Clipped Wings
by crazygunbladergirl
Summary: PoR The tale of Lucrezia, a renegade heron laguz, as she roams across Tellius to escape Daein, angry merchants, and a certain perverted crow king. It's more involved than that. Read to find out! OCx? language, suggestive themes, blood, etc.
1. Chapter 1: Another Morning in Kilvas

_Woohoo, another story about an OC laguz character! I hope people read it anyway, though, since I have up to Chapter 12 planned out... So, here we go! crazygunbladergirl now presents:

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**Clipped Wings**

Chapter 1 -- Another Morning in Kilvas

The first thing she heard when she woke up was the sound of crashing waves along the cliffs. She slowly woke up and watched the sea from her window. She could see quite a ways out, since her room was built into one of the higher cliffs. Stretching her arms, legs, and wings, she walked over to the mirror and silently observed her reflection. Her elegant black-streaked, blonde hair lay unkempt around her face, and her white feathers were still a bit ruffled out of place. Yawning, she made her way to the dresser and pulled out various articles of clothing to accomodate her flight. All she needed for now was a thick, short purple dress and some leggings. Her short, loose boots remained untied, for she disliked the cramping feeling on her feet that was shoes.

"Hey, Lucrezia, you ready yet?" came a bored voice from outside her room.

"Give me a chance to preen, you uncouth raven!" the girl called back. Those silly crows cared not for the state of their feathers. If only they would take the chance to clean up their plumage, some of those crows could be quite handsome.

Suddenly, the girl named Lucrezia snapped her fingers and was instantly transformed into a magnificent white heron with black-tipped wings and black stripes near her eyes. The bird used her long bill to clean and groom her feathers. Soon her plumage was even more breathtaking. A stretch of the neck, and then Lucrezia was once again a winged girl.

"All right, you may enter," she called.

The door opened, revealing a cocky man with straight, black hair tucked behind his long ears. The man sported a pair of wings like Lucrezia, only his were jet black and much messier.

"I still don't understand why you herons waste so much time on grooming," the man muttered. "It's all gonna get messy anyway when you fly."

"We herons are much more pure and elegant than your pillaging kind," she replied sharply.

"Sheesh, Lu! Why the attitude?" the crow-man asked. "We're visiting King Naesala today!"

"That's the reason. That cocky crow spends more time trying to smooth-talk me than he does actually doing his job as king!" Lucrezia pushed a section of black hair behind her left ear. "Ever since I came here he's been overdoing the politeness. It's completely fake; I know it."

The man shrugged and walked out of the room. Lucrezia returned to her window and stared longingly at the sea. _It is beautiful_, she thought,_ but it could never match the elegance of Serenes..._

Lucrezia had not been to the forest of Serenes in over twenty years. It was her home, the home of the heron clan, but twenty years ago it had been destroyed in a massacre led by citizens from Begnion. However, Lucrezia was not around when it happened, for she had sought to learn about and live among the beorc. When she heard that the forest had been destroyed, she simply travelled around Tellius as a travelling bard, always making sure to hide her wings under a heavy cloak. For the past couple months she had been staying with the ravens of Kilvas, much to her dislike, to escape the growing anti-laguz sentiment in Daein.

_Ravens are so dirty, sloppy, and silver-tongued! I can't say anything without being bombarded by niceties!_ Despite her elegant form and cleaning habits, Lucrezia much prefered to be treated like any other laguz. She barely had any ties to the royal family of the herons, and she much preferred the life of a commoner. Even the lowest beorc scum of Begnion would have been preferable to these crows...

Lucrezia finally made her way to King Kilvas' throne room, which looked more like a pirate hang-out than a classy throne room. Naesala sat slouched on the throne with a bored expression on his face. His advisor, Nealuchi, carried his usual friendly grin. For a crow, Nealuchi had impeccable manners. The crow king instantly stood on seeing the heron enter the room.

"Ah, Lulu! Nice to see you this morning!" shouted Naesala as he ran a hand through his dark blue hair.

"Don't call me Lulu. You know I hate it," Lucrezia muttered.

"Well, Lulu," Naesala continued, ignoring the heron as usual, "I have a proposition for you."

"If it's about raiding another merchant ship, the answer is no. You know how much I loathe your pirating."

"Aww! But, Lulu, just think about how much extra cash you'll have to spend when you leave again on your travels!" the crow protested. "I think you should at least try it once while you're here. You may as well take part of one of the fine traditions of Kilvas!"

"I'd rather not," Lucrezia replied. She knew that no matter how much she protested, the crow king always found an excuse to make her go.

"Well, if you won't take part, then I suppose you'll have to just spend the whole day with me." Naesala smiled mischieviously. "I'm sure we could have lots of _fun_. If you know what I mean!"

Lucrezia glared at him. "You stupid crow! I can't wait to be rid of this place!" Then she angriliy stormed off to join the raiding party.

"Goodness, she's fun to tease!" Naesala commented to himself. Nealuchi simply sighed, embarrassed.

The other crows stood out on one of the cliffs, watching as a small trading vessel sailed along in the distance.

"This one should be packed!" exclaimed one of the raiders. "We'll have enough gold for each of us to buy the best beorc weapons!"

"Not like we need weapons. We can just pick the sailors off from the air," noted another.

The one who had woken Lucrezia up earlier came up to her with a bottle of black, sticky liquid. "Here you go. It should be dry by the time we get there."

"Yeah, yeah..." Lucrezia, being such a rare heron, had to cover her wings with black dye and dye her hair to blend in with the crows. Otherwise, a poacher or slave trader may notice her and try to capture her. It was a pain to have to put this on everytime she had to leave, but it was the best source of protection for now.

After her beautiful white wings and blonde hair were dyed black, she took off with the other crows to attack yet another helpless ship. _Man, I can't wait to leave this place..._

The wind was just right for flying -- not too fast, but just enough to give a decent boost. Lucrezia enjoyed flying, which was why she secretly wanted to go on the raids. She also enjoyed hunting for fish. However, today she would have to go against the old heron traditions and fight for once.

_I hope that stupid crow knows what he's getting himself into,_ Lucrezia thought bitterly as she soared along.

Before long they had surrounded the ship. It was quite small for a trading vessel, but it still had a few soldiers on board.

"Okay, Lu, you just have to dodge the arrows and it'll be easy!" the crow reassured her.

"Yeah, easy for you crows to say. You fight all the time!"

"You don't have to necessarily fight! Just steal stuff!"

Then they soared in for the attack. There were only a few archers on board, but they were still fairly skilled. Lucrezia was almost hit in the wing, but she dodged it just in time. She searched carefully for shiny goods as she flew back and forth. Soon the other crows had taken care of the archers, leaving the deck free for landing. Lucrezia landed behind the others and spotted a glint near the mast. She quickly dove over to it and picked up a large, white gem.

"Wow, look what Lu found!"

Lucrezia turned to see a group of crows behind her. Their eyes were wide in excitement.

"It's a white gem! Lu, you're amazing!"

Lucrezia looked at the gem in her hand. It was quite beautiful, but she couldn't figure why the crows would care about the look of the object.

"Those sell for 10,000 gold in beorc currency! We're rich!"

_Of course,_ she thought bitterly. _What would they want with beorc currency, anyway? _

Upon returning to the palace, Lucrezia was congratulated by many of the crows for having succeeded in her first raiding mission.

"You're turning into a crow, you poor thing," Nealuchi told her when she walked into the throne room.

Naesala grinned at her and asked, "Well, Lulu! Do you wish you had been born a crow instead of a heron? Isn't raiding ships much more thrilling than sitting in a forest all day?"

"It's so barbaric," Lucrezia replied. However, she couldn't help but smile. "Somehow, I really... enjoyed it."

"I knew it!" Naesala fluttered over to the heron and gave her a pat on the back. "Deep down, my lady, you are a crow. Just admit it. Now you just need to learn how to fight!"

"_That_ is something I refuse to pick up!" Lucrezia protested. She handed the white gem to Naesala and rushed out of the room. When she finally got to her own room she let out her supressed laughter.

"That really was so much fun!" she whispered to herself. "Of course, I could never let Naesala know that, or he'll just tease me again."

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_So, what did you all think? Review, give comments, advice, etc. Just be nice, because I'll be looking at all of your stories, too!_


	2. Chapter 2: Wanted

_Well, I've been getting some pretty positive reviews so far, so I've decided to go ahead with Chapter 2. Sorry about the shortness... The rest of the chapers are much, much longer. This one just had to be short so I could get a good splitting point. Thanks for all of the input! Please feel free to continue to review!

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Chapter 2 -- Wanted 

Since that first raid, Lucrezia had gone with the crows on five more. Her sharp eyes had earned them an extra 40,000 gold in beorc currency, which made her a favorite among the pirates.

One night, after a long raid on a merchant vessel headed for Begnion, Lucrezia fluttered down to her room to rest.

"Man, how many archers can you stick on one ship?" she muttered as stretched her sore wings. "Good thing I stayed in the back and let the crows take care of them first." Then she stopped and realized what she had just said. In the back of her mind she could imagine the crow king shouting, "You're turning into a crow! You're just as selfish as the rest of us!"

"Damn crows... I really need to leave this place soon..." she sighed. She changed into her heron form so she could preen her feathers clean of the black dye that still clung to her wings from the previous raid. Just then, she felt someone grab her from behind.

"Good, I found you alone! Come, lady heron!"

Lucrezia instantly recognized the voice as Naesala's. Suddenly, he lifted her up and flew out of the window of her room.

"Naesala? What the heck are you doing?"

"Shh, it's a surprise."

Turning back to human form, Lucrezia tried kicking herself free of the crow king's grasp, but he was holding on to her tight around the waist. They landed on a balcony of the main palace. Still grabbing on to her, Naesala soared through the window and into the hallways of the palace until he stopped in front of a large, ornately carved door.

"Th-this is your room? Naesala--"

Naesala shoved her inside and shut the door behind them. Lucrezia started to realize what was going on and tried to fly out the window, but the crow grabbed her hand and thrust her onto the bed.

"Naesala, you dirty... Get your claws off of me!"

Lucrezia tried to struggle free, but just then Naesala pressed his lips against hers. In that moment of silence and shock, she heard the sound of soldiers running through the hallway outside the door.

One of them knocked against the door and shouted, "King Kilvas! Where is she?"

"Stay here and don't say a word," Naesala whispered.

Lucrezia could only stare back speechlessly, her pale blue eyes wide in fear.

He winked at her and then calmly strode over to the door, calling, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" He opened the door and said, "Look, I was trying to sleep. Do have to be so loud when you do these searches?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but--"

"Remember, you're in Kilvas, not Daein. Show some respect for an exhausted crow!"

"Yes, sir! But we can't find the heron girl!"

"Have you looked in her room, you idiots!"

"Ah, well..."

Naesala sighed, still blocking the doorway. "Go to the guest building and ask one of the soldiers. Now shut up and let me sleep."

"Yes, sir!" Then the soldier left, and Naesala quickly shut the door.

Before Lucrezia could speak, the crow shushed her and whispered, "The Daeins came during your raid. Apparently one of the crew members of that first ship you raided recognized you as the heron girl who used to sing throughout the continent. They're looking for you, so I had to find a way to hide you before they started searching."

"How... I never showed my wings to anyone! How would they have known?" Lucrezia stammered.

"You must not have been careful enough," Naesala replied bluntly. "Now you're wanted throughout all of Daein."

"And you told them I was here?!" Lucrezia squeaked.

"They paid me a lot of money. They would have paid more if I had handed you over directly," the crow explained with a smirk. "But I decided I would be nice, since after all you _did_ make quite a bit of money for us during those raids."

"Oh, how _kind_ of you." Lucrezia thought bitterly, _He just does whatever gives him the most profit, stupid crow..._

"Yes, aren't I nice? Now, I suggest you go on your way. The Daeins will be staying here for a few days to replenish their supplies and such, so I can't keep you hidden forever."

"I'm sure they're paying you for that, as well," she muttered. "But just one quick question. If you knew they were searching for me, why didn't you just _tell_ me when you kidnapped me from my room, instead of acting like you were going to... you know?"

"Well, I figured I would add a little adventure to the situation. It does get quite boring being the ruler of a country, you know?" Naesala smirked. "Of course, if you would like to 'you know' for real, I would be glad to oblige."

Her response was a swift slap in the face.

"Fine, fine," Naesala muttered as he rubbed the sore spot on his cheek. "Now, get going, before I change my mind to hand you over. That 100,000 gold bribe is quite tempting. Which, by the way, I will be expecting as payment when I next see you. 100,000 gold. Keep it in mind."

"I don't care how hospitable you were while I stayed here," Lucrezia told him in an irritated tone. "I still hate you."

"I'm sure you do. Now come back and visit me some time, my lovely heron, Lady Lulu!"

"Good riddance," the lovely heron replied. With that, she flew out of the window and over the choppy seas.

_I suppose it's time to start a new adventure after all,_ she thought as she soared toward the starry horizon.


	3. Chapter 3: Business Offer

_Thanks again for all of the reviews! I'm introducing some new random OCs... I'll try not to go into too much detail... Anyway, enjoy Chapter 3!

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Chapter 3 -- Business Offer 

Lucrezia soared closer to the shores of Begnion as the sun began to rise. As much as she hated the thought of travelling through Begnion, the land of the people who had massacred her tribe, she knew that she would need money to travel to a country where she would be safe. She figured that Gallia would be her best bet, for King Caineghis had once offered to give the royal heron family protection and sanctuary.

As she landed softly on the shore, she noticed a small town lying in the distance. Throwing her heavy cloak over her wings, she headed off in the direction of the town, ready to resume her guise as a travelling bard.

_I do so despise cramping my wings up like this, but I suppose I have no choice,_ she thought bitterly as she passed a merchant band. Then she stopped and glanced back. _Those merchants... weren't they the ones I raided with the crows?_

Indeed, they were. They seemed to be quite poor without their wares, for even their small cart was nearly empty and in disrepair. One of them ran up to her, a young man with shaggy brown hair.

"Excuse me, miss? Could I interest you in something?" he asked desperately.

"Do you usually sell items to travellers at random?" she questioned him.

"No. But, you see, on the way here we were attacked by pirates from Kilvas, and well... we're kinda desperate for money." He looked down, ashamed at having to admit such a predicament.

Lucrezia was having difficulties in keeping from breaking out into laughter. _Wait, this isn't funny! They're poor because I helped steal their stuff! But somehow I find it almost... ironic that I'm seeing them again._

She finally allowed herself to smile and replied, "I'm sorry, but I'm a bit poor myself. I just arrived here, and I was hoping to make money by singing."

The man looked surprised. "You're a bard?"

"Yes, sir! I just can't stay in one place for long, you know? So I travel the world and sing!" Lucrezia made a small curtsey. All her experience with Naesala had turned her into an expert liar.

"Well! I do wish you luck then! Hopefully you will not befall the same misfortune we have..."

"Have you tried the town up ahead? That is where I am headed," Lucrezia mentioned, forming a plan in her mind.

"Not yet, but we are also headed there," the man answered.

"How about we work together?" suggested the heron. "I could sing to attract customers near your stand, and then you could advertise in between my songs! That way we'll help each other out and become rich! What do you say?"

"Wow, what an excellent idea!" the man replied. "I'll go ask the others."

Lucrezia smiled and nodded as the merchant excitedly ran back to his companions. She was beginning to wonder what had made her to offer her services when it could endanger her identity.

_Of course... It's so I can get a benefit from those beorc merchants to repay Naesala. I can start charging them a small interest fee for my services, and then once I have enough I'll sneak out before they notice I'm--_ Then she gasped. _Oh no... I really am turning into Naesala..._ She ruffled up her hair in exasperation. Maybe it was a good thing she left before her wings turned permanently black and she began cawing like a crow.

Before long the man ran back with a huge grin on his face. "We'll be glad to accept your offer!"

"Excellent! I do hope we both find success!" Lucrezia gave another polite curtsey, but then stood right back up when she realized that Naesala would have done the same thing.

The other merchants joined up with them, carrying their horse and cart right behind. There were three of them besides the first man.

"My name is Alonzo," the brown-haired man told her. "These are my friends and partners: Sydney, his wife Lydia, and Nathan."

"How do you do?" Nathan said with a bow. He had dark green, shaggy hair and wore an elaborate coat.

Lydia, a sweet-looking young woman with orange hair tied back in a ponytail, smiled and said, "It will be a pleasure working with you, I'm sure!"

"Nice to meet you, miss!" said Sydney, extending a hand in friendly fashion. His dark brown hair was clean-cut, and he wore simple clothing like his wife. Then he looked puzzled. "I'm sorry, miss, but I don't remember catching your name."

"It's Luc-- It's Lulu," Lucrezia replied. She felt it would be safer not to use her real name, but sadly, Naesala's pet name for her had been the first thing that came to mind. _I'll kill that crow the next time I see him,_ she thought bitterly.

"Lulu, eh? Well, thank you very much for offering such generous services!" Syndey exclaimed.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's go try our luck in that town!" Alonzo shouted. "I knew our luck would change!"

Lucrezia smiled and followed her new companions to their first stop in Begnion. _What am I thinking?_ she thought. _I must be crazy. I suppose it's the result of spending three months with the crows. Thank goodness I won't be heading back to Kilvas for a while... _

It was already afternoon by the time they reached the town. Lucrezia's legs were much more worn out than she had expected they would be.

"Are you all right, Miss Lulu?" Nathan finally asked her after noticing how far she had lagged behind.

"Y-yes, I am!" Lucrezia replied, faking a smile. "I'm afraid my legs are a bit cramped from being on the ship for so long." The truth, of course, was that she normally didn't travel on foot, so her legs were not as strong as her wings.

"You came by ship? Interesting..." Nathan started to continued walking.

"H-how is that interesting? Everyone travels by ship these days when going such long distances!"

"Yes, but I just don't remember seeing another ship nearby when we docked," the green-haired man replied.

"Ah, well, what time did you arrive?" Lucrezia asked, pulling her cloak tighter around her wings.

"Not more than an hour ago."

"Hm, then I suppose my ship must have left very quickly after arriving," Lucrezia lied, trying to control the shaking sound in her voice. "I've been here since early this morning, but I spent some time enjoying the scenery and eating breakfast before moving on." She hoped that would satisfy the merchant.

"I see. Yes, that ship must have been in a hurry. Well, in any case, it is a good thing you delayed your trip for a while. Otherwise, we might not have met!" Nathan smiled.

"This is true, my good merchant!" When Nathan finally resumed conversation with his friends, Lucrezia let out a heavy sigh.

_That was too close... I have to formulate a better story fast if I'm to get some money from this venture. Getting that 100,000 gold debt repaid won't be easy..._


	4. Chapter 4: Lulu, Travelling Bard

_All right, the long chapter everyone's been waiting for! Anyway, sorry if Lucrezia is kinda turning into a Mary-Sue... it won't last. I just figured that if she's a heron she should also be extremely talented in music, right? That's about as perfect as she'll get.

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Chapter 4 -- Lulu, Travelling Bard 

The bustling town turned out to be much larger than it had originally appeared when Lucrezia first spotted it from the shore. It was, in fact, more of a city than a town. Lucrezia soon learned that it was home to one of the senators of Begnion's government.

_Naturally,_ she thought. _I'm so tired of dealing with nobility..._

Alonzo suggested that they first find a place to stay before setting up shop. The inns looked more like castles to Lucrezia. Actually, all of the buildings of this town looked like castles.

_Why are they so damn rich?_ Lucrezia thought in irritation. _Half of this country is desert, and the other half is either mountains or Serenes._ She sighed sadly at the thought of her homeland, knowing that by this point it was probably completely neglected and dead.

The merchants ended up with three rooms, since that was all they could afford. Nathan went to find a place to tie up the horse while the others divied up the rooms.

"Syndey and Lydia get their own room, of course," commented Alonzo. "So that leaves Nathan, Lulu, and me..."

"Could I possibly have a room by myself?" Lucrezia asked. "I mean, I am the only other girl and, well..."

"Oh, of course, Lulu!" Lydia replied. "You're right, the lady should have her privacy."

"Aw, but Nathan snores!" Alonzo whined.

"I do not!" came the voice of Nathan. He had just returned from tying up the horse.

"Look, Lulu has graciously offered her services, so we should let her have some privacy in return," Lydia explained.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

With that settled, the five of them went to their respective rooms and unpacked what little belongings they had. Which, for Lucrezia, wasn't very much. She sat down on the bed and marvelled at the elegance of the room. The people of Begnion had an obession with covering any blank space with carvings or paintings to add more decoration.

_These large windows aren't great for my situation, either,_ she observed as she peered out one of the giant windows of her room. _I can't stretch my wings too much, or someone will see in..._

She sat back down again and decided to figure out which songs to sing first. She had composed most of them herself, but she still remembered a few from her Serenes days; however, she worried that she would be discovered if she sang those.

_I'll need to purchase a lute somewhere as well... I prefer accompaniment._ Lucrezia opened her small coin pouch and counted what little money she had. Suddenly, she felt a smooth, round object in the bag. She gasped as she pulled out the white gem she had found on that first raid.

"I thought I had given this to Naesala... I wonder if..." A vision of Naesala grinning and telling her, _"I'll be charging interest on that, of course,"_ filled her head.

"I'm sure all his generosity will come back to haunt me in the form of an even higher debt," she muttered. "Stupid crow..." However, she wasn't going to let her immense hatred of the crow king stop her from buying a lute. Putting the gem back in her pouch, she wrapped her cloak around her and casually walked out of the inn to go find herself a lute.

_A small lute shouldn't be all that expensive, should it?_ Lucrezia grinned with confidence as she entered the first instrument shop she saw.

"Ah, good afternoon, miss! What can I help you with today?" asked a nice-looking old man when she walked in. "We've just received a professional-grade flute, crafted from the finest ebony!"

"I'm afraid my skill with the flute is a bit lacking," Lucrezia responded humbly. "However, I would like to see what kind of lutes you have."

"Lutes? Ah, yes, we have the finest lutes, imported straight from the heart of Begnion!" the old man answered. He showed her to a shelf carrying various types of stringed instruments. "What kind are you looking for?"

"Whatever I can afford, as long as it plays well," Lucrezia answered. She just wanted something that would be easy for her to pick up, since she hadn't played a lute in several years.

"Thrifty, aren't we?" the old man chuckled. Then he picked up a small lute made with light-colored wood. It was covered with various engraved designs. "This one sells for about 20,000 gold, but don't be alarmed by its price! It has an excellent tone!"

"Could I try it?"

"Of course!" The man handed the instrument to her.

Lucrezia took it and plucked a few cords. A soft, mellow tone came out. "It does have a nice tone, but I'm not sure this is the one for me."

"Oh? Well, then, how about this one?"

Lucrezia looked over the lutes. They all had ornate designs, like everything else in Begnion. Suddenly, one with a familiar design caught her eye.

"Was that made near Serenes?" she asked the shopkeeper, pointing to the lute.

"Why, yes it was! Quite informed, aren't we? Yes, this was made by one of the masters who happened to live on the outskirts of the old forest. Sadly, he left shortly after the... incident there twenty years ago."

"Yes, I'm sure," Lucrezia replied. _So the beorc do not like to acknowledge their deed? Most interesting._

"Here, why don't you try it?"

Lucrezia played the Serenes lute. The tone was sweeter than any of the others, and it felt more familiar on her fingers.

"This was made by Master Robins, wasn't it?" she asked with a smile.

"Ah, you are familiar with him, then?" The old man almost looked surprised.

"He was my teacher."

"Your teacher?!" The shopkeeper's face turned to shock. "Goodness, he hasn't been heard from in twenty years! Just how old are you?"

"I was very young when he taught me," Lucrezia replied. "But I remember him and his lessons very well! Now, how much is this lute?"

"I... 80,000," the man answered flatly.

"80,000? Quite a bit much for a small lute such as this."

"It was made by the master! You know very well how valuable this is!"

"Could you give a discount to a former student of the master?" Lucrezia offered. "I am afraid I cannot afford such a hefty price, but I'm sure Master Robins would be disappointed if he knew that one of his prodigies was unable to buy one of his old instruments."

"Prodigy? You say you are a prodigy?" The old man laughed. "You hardly look twenty! How can I be sure you are not lying?"

"Ask for me to play one of his compositions," Lucrezia suggested. "Of course, it's been twenty years, but I am sure I could still play some of his more familiar ones."

"Fine, then! Play 'Lost Canto'!" the shopkeeper ordered. He grinned triumphantly, knowing that a young woman would never be able to play such a difficult piece.

"The 'Canto'? Yes, I am familiar with that one. Let me remember how it all goes." Lucrezia closed her eyes and thought back to her old teacher. The mysterious beorc who had convinced her to leave the forest and learn more about the beorc. The man who probably saved her life by getting her to leave only days before the massacre of her people.

"Play it flawlessly, and I'll sell it to you for 20,000!"

"10,000."

"Dammit!" The man cringed. "...Fine. 10,000. But no less than that! Now play 'Lost Canto'!"

Lucrezia smiled softly and gently plucked the first few chords of the piece. Old memories flooded back as she played, and she felt as though Master Robins himself was guiding her hand. In her mind's eye she could see the forest, young herons laughing and fluttering about. She could smell the leaves, hear the wind rustling through the trees. Master Robins was telling her about beorc culture...

_"Why don't you try living among them? I think the only way you could really understand us would be to live with us."_

_"Are you kidding? The king would never allow such a thing!"_

_"Well, I'm sure you've already broken a few rules by coming to learn from me. You herons are always so secretive."_

_"But...ugh, you're right. I've been sneaking out. It's just that ever since I heard you play when I wandered out of the forest the one time, I've always wanted to learn! It's more fun to sing when there's someone singing with you!"_

_"Yes. This lute is just a piece of wood, but when you play it and pour your heart into it, it comes alive and sings with you. Now, let's work on the 'Canto' again, shall we?"_

Lucrezia finished playing and opened her eyes. She hadn't realized that they had been closed that whole time. She looked at the shopkeeper, who was speechless.

"Th-that... I've never heard it played so well, except by Robins himself! Who are you, anyway?"

Lucrezia grinned. "Just a travelling bard who needs to make a bit of gold. Now, you agreed on 10,000 gold, correct?"

"Y-yes! I'll even throw in a few extra strings!" The shopkeeper eagerly ran to the back of the shop to grab the strings.

Sighing, Lucrezia pulled out the white gem and looked it over. _That old crow would laugh if he knew I had spent this on a lute..._

"Here you go, miss! Ah, a white gem? Excellent! I can trade that right away!"

Lucrezia walked out of the shop, lute in hand. She felt a bit odd, however. The return of old memories made her feel almost... sad. After she stepped into her room, she shut the door and leaned against a wall, hugging her lute tight.

_Master Robins, Princess Lillia, Prince Reyson, baby Princess Leanne, Lena..._

The names of old friends and family flooded her mind. She hadn't seen any of them, save Reyson, in over twenty years. She had seen Reyson for a short time when she visited Phoenicis for the first time, before stopping in Kilvas. The prince had been relieved to know that another heron still lived, but he was greatly troubled by the illness of his father, King Lorazieh. He had warned her to stay away from beorc lands, which was why she had gone to Kilvas.

Lucrezia set the lute down on a table and found herself crying.

_I miss them... I never thought I would, but I miss them all!_


	5. Chapter 5: Making Money

_Haha, yeah. I should let you know, song-writing has not really been my skill. So the cheesy song that Lulu sings is... well, pretty cheesy. But I hope you all like this chapter, anyway!

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Chapter 5 -- Making Money 

"Well, is everyone ready for our first selling day?" Sydney asked eagerly as everyone gathered in the main lobby of the inn the next morning.

"I slept great!" Nathan exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know! You snored all night!" Alonzo complained with a yawn. "I hardly got any sleep!"

"How about you, Lulu?" asked Lydia, turning to the heron.

"A fair amount of sleep. I had to re-teach myself a few songs that I haven't played in a while," Lucrezia responded.

"Now that everyone is here, let's head out and set up shop!" Sydney ordered. Lucrezia had come to assume that the friendly, clean-cut man was the leader of the group.

The merchants began setting up near a fountain in the middle of town. Lucrezia tuned her lute and sat down by the fountain. People walking by began to slow down to see what the bard would do. Then she strummed a chord and began singing an old song she had composed in Daein.

"I'll tell you a tale, of a man named Dale. A silly young fellow, with hair sunshine yellow, who wished to fly to the moon..."

She could hear the merchants murmuring excitedly and positively about their business. Alonzo had already started talking to some bystanders.

"He wanted to soar, for the earth was a bore, and he often questioned why beorc could not fly, if only they could fly to the moon..."

She guessed that twenty people were now listening to her. _Sheesh, they're slow. I used to have bigger crowds in Daein._

"He gathered some wood, which he thought would be good, to create a strong frame to help with his game, his plan to fly to the moon..."

By the time Dale had tried launching himself from a cliff and only ended up falling through the trees, about fifty people were clustered about the square, and Lucrezia spotted some listeners dropping coins into the hat she had put out to collect money.

While poor Dale never did make it to the moon, Lucrezia earned 1,000 gold off of his song. People applauded when she finished and gave a curtsey.

"Thank you, thank you! I do hope you all plan to get a good day's worth of shopping done on this lovely summer day! Now, does anyone have any requests?"

The day ended successfully for both Lucrezia and the merchants, who were almost halfway back to the amount of money they had before the crows attacked them.

"Goodness, Lulu! It seems you were just as successful as we were!" Alonzo remarked as they were walking back to the inn.

"Yes, well, I think I'll need a little more to make up for this lute," she answered. "I'll need a fair amount to be able to get to where I'm going."

"Where are you planning on going to, Miss Lulu?" Lydia asked in curiosity.

Lucrezia looked at her and grinned. "Wherever the wind takes me, Lydia." Of course, she already knew that the wind would blow her to Gallia.

That evening, they all gathered around the dinner table and talked about the day's events.

"I swear, that woman must have bought enough vulenaries for an entire army!" Alonzo remarked about one of his customers. "She said that her children get into so many fights that she has to stock up for emergencies."

"It's a good thing those crows didn't steal all of my silk, because I think we made 13,000 gold off of that alone!" Lydia commented. "These Begnions must have too much money to throw around."

"Not like that's a bad thing for us," Nathan replied. "For us, or for Lulu here. Just how much did you make?"

"About 9,000," she answered. "That's pretty good for a first day, though. By the second and third days they get a chance to tell all their friends about it, and they're more willing to give money." Deep down, though, she knew that at this rate it would take a few weeks before she could earn the 100,000 to repay her debt.

"Lulu, dear, how long have you been a bard?" Lydia asked. "You look so young, and yet you seem to have a lot of experience with this type of thing."

Lucrezia thought for a moment, being careful about which words she would choose. It was personal questions like these that could easily endanger her, for laguz lived considerably longer than beorc.

"About five years, I think," she finally answered. "I took a few breaks here and there, though."

"Where are you from?" Sydney asked. Then he politely added, "Sorry if it seems like we're interrogating you. It's just that we're all curious to know about such a nice business partner. We're all from Crimea, by the way."

"Where am I from? Oh, I'm a native of Begnion," Lucrezia replied. This was actually somewhat true, for the forest of Serenes lay inside the country of Begnion. "I just get tired of being in the same place for too long, so I began traveling."

"You must have seen a lot!" Sydney remarked. "We've only just sailed from Crimea. You see, there were rumors of invasion, and, well, we figured we'd better be safe than sorry."

"Invasion? By Daein?" Lucrezia had not heard if the invasion was confirmed or not. Naesala probably knew, but he wouldn't tell her if it didn't benefit him in some way or another.

"Yes, by Daein. It was just so sudden, but a soldier himself told us. He said that they had penetrated the border and were moving toward Melior, the capital."

"That's certainly interesting. I had not heard that. I wonder what Daein would want with Crimea..."

During the rest of the evening they talked about various topics, such as the weather in Crimea compared to Begnion, long sea voyages, and the rising price of silver.

Lucrezia finally returned to her room, glad to be able to throw off her cloak and stretch her wings.

"Ugh, I really am beginning to smell like beorc," she muttered as she transformed into a heron and began preening. "I can't wait to get to Gallia."

A sudden knock at the door made her jump and accidently let out a small squawk. She quickly regained human form and threw a cloak over her wings.

"Yes?" She opened the door to find Nathan standing there.

"What was that sound?" he asked, with a confused look on his face.

"What sound?"

"I heard like a squawk or something. Sounded almost like a bird!"

"Oh, this?" She made a mimicked squawk. "Sorry, it's just that I wasn't expecting anyone to knock on the door so late at night. Scared me a little. That's the sound I make when I'm surprised." She laughed a little to convince him.

"Oh, okay. Kind of a weird noise to make, but then again I apparently snore like a cow. At least, that's what Alonzo says."

"Did you need something?" Lucrezia asked. She really wanted him to leave so she could get back to preening.

"I just wanted to get away from Alonzo's complaining, but it looks like you're busy, so..."

_Great, this is the part where I'm supposed to say, "Oh no, not at all! Come on in and let's chat while my wings get even more sore!" Stupid beorc... Then again, maybe I can convince him to get those merchants to take me closer to the Gallian border. It would be easier if I had some cover..._

"Oh no, not at all! Please, come in!"

"Thank you." Nathan walked in, and Lucrezia closed the door after him. She made sure her wings were adequately covered before joining him by the writing table.

"So, you say Alonzo complains a lot?" she asked, hoping to keep the conversation light and friendly to avoid anymore personal topics.

"Yeah, well, we've been friends for a while. But when Syd got married we decided to let him and Lydia have a little more private time, you know. So we get stuck sharing the same room a lot, and he gets on my nerves every once in a while."

"That must get irritating at times," Lucrezia commented, instantly thinking of Naesala.

"Yeah, but he's a good guy and all. He kept all our spirits up after we got attacked by the crows and all," Nathan explained. "Have you ever seen those crow sub-humans before?"

Lucrezia hid a grimace at the word "sub-human." "Just a few times, but they were only scouting. I have not yet been attacked by the crow pirates."

"Well, they're a nasty lot. You think everything's going fine, and then a whole cloud of them comes and surrounds you and takes out all of your guards and steals every bit of worth on the ship. They even found that white gem I had been hiding!"

Lucrezia covered her mouth to hide a smile, for she knew which white gem he was talking about. "That's terrible!"

"They just swept through like locusts. I tell you, Daein should spend its efforts invading the sub-human territories instead of fair Crimea!"

"I suppose..." She stood up and walked to the window. _Wasn't Crimea supposed to be the nation that tolerated laguz and beorc fairly? Why is this Crimean so opposed to us?_

"I don't think all... sub-humans are bad," Lucrezia mumbled. "Those crows are nasty, sure, but I've known a few who weren't all that bad. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them and us, other than the ears and wings and such."

"Hah, those must have been the exceptions. Tell me, Lulu, where do such kind sub-humans exist?" Lucrezia turned to Nathan to see a mocking smirk on his face.

"I told you, I travel a lot. I've passed by the laguz nations. Some even offered me aid."

"Lies, I can't believe it! You sure are funny, Lulu!" Nathan laughed. Then he stretched. "Well, I best be off. I should get my sleep, and so should you. We got a hard day ahead of us tomorrow!"

"Indeed," Lucrezia replied. "Good night, Nathan."

"Night, Lulu." She let Nathan outside and shut the door behind him.

_So that's why Prince Reyson didn't want me to travel among the beorc. They've gotten worse, or I just never noticed it before... But Master Robins was never that way. _

She regained her heron form and finished tending to her wings. Then she tucked herself into bed, humming an old Serenes tune as she drifted off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Change of Plans

_Hey guys. Sorry for the wait. I have been sooooooo busy lately... Anyways, I haven't gotten any reviews in a while... Please please review! Otherwise I don't know how you all like this story so far!

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Chapter 6 -- Change of Plans 

Over the next week Lucrezia discovered that she had a growing fan base. She knew that she had enough money to go to Gallia by this point, so she went to Sydney to convince him to head closer to the Gallian border.

"Well, we were discussing moving on, anyway," Sydney told her when she made her request. "So, where do you want to head next?"

"I, uh... well, how about closer to the mountains?" she suggested. "Some place near Ribahn?"

"Ribahn? That's inside the Gallian border, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I feel like the wind is blowing me there," Lucrezia replied. "Though, if you wish to cancel my services, you may head elsewhere."

"Oh, no! We desperately need your services! Getting business is one thing, but we need to acquire merchandise to sell at some point!" Sydney exclaimed.

"Isn't Ribahn known for its wool?" Lydia asked. "We could make a killing off of wool in Daein!"

"True, true," Sydney replied. "In that case, we're off to Ribahn!"

"Excellent!" Lucrezia had once again succeeded in convincing the beorc to do her a favor. They sure could be persuaded easily.

That afternoon the merchants and Lucrezia headed off to Ribahn, in the west. Along the way they had to stop for a night in another small town to rest up. Some soldiers were staying in the inn, which made Lucrezia a bit uneasy. However, she was able to once again secure a room for herself, so she had the privacy to preen when she needed to.

The next morning Lucrezia went to the town square to make a little extra money on singing. She prepared her lute, as usual, and sang some upbeat songs to make everyone feel awake and fresh. After her third song, she thanked the crowd and headed back to the inn to get some breakfast. However, along the way she ran into some of the soldiers.

"Good morning, miss!" One of them said as they approached her. "What lovely singing you provided this fine day!"

"Thank you, sirs!" Lucrezia maintained a calm and polite appearance, but inside she was anxious to get away from them.

"Our lord is none other than Duke Tanas, one of the elustrious senators to the apostle!" The soldier explained. "I am sure he would enjoy your singing. Would you grace us with a visit to Tanas?"

"Well, I'm a bit busy now. I'm on my way to Ribahn, and--"

"But, miss, the duke would pay you much more handsomely than these simple townsfolk! He may even recommend you to the apostle herself!"

"Thank you for the offer, but I really must be on my way to Ribahn." Lucrezia tried to walk on, but the soldier continued to block her path.

"We _insist_, lady troubador," the soldier said, this time with a commanding look in his eyes.

"Oh, I see. You've done something to upset your lord, and so to make up for it you plan to present me as entertainment to make him forget you blunder. Is that it, sir knight?" She smirked a little when the soldier blushed in embarrassment.

"Look, I could easily arrest you for defying the duke's orders. Is that what you want, miss?"

"I don't think it's very polite to force a lady away from her destination," Lucrezia responded.

"It's not very polite to refuse the duke," replied the soldier. "You could go easily, or we'll have to convince you by force."

_Damn beorc... If only I could transform and fly away..._ She glanced around and saw some archers among the group. She didn't want to chance getting shot down.

"Would you first let me talk to my associates?" she asked. "They will be wondering where I have gone."

"Of course. But I will be sending some of my men to follow you, to make sure you don't try to give us the slip."

"Yes, I understand." Lucrezia turned and briskly walked toward the inn. _How do I get out of this? Think, Lulu, THINK!_

She entered the inn to find the merchants waiting for her.

"Are you ready to make some business, Lulu?" Sydney asked excitedly.

"I'm sorry, I truly am, but something has come up. I can no longer accompany you," Lucrezia told them.

"What? But why?" Alonzo looked more dejected than the rest of them.

"I'm afraid I have some... business to attend to in Tanas. These soldiers have come to escort me."

"Tanas? Why there? I thought you wanted to go to Ribahn!" Nathan asked.

"I..." She quickly made up a convincing story. "I am from Tanas. It seems my brother is ill, and I must go care for him."

"But why are soldiers escorting you?" asked a down-hearted Lydia.

"Let us come with you! We want to repay you for all you've done for us!" Sydney offered.

"No, I'm afraid I can't. Well, there is one thing you can do..." Naesala was yelling at Lucrezia for not getting any profit out of the deal. Though he was demanding a much higher price than she had in mind.

"Could you give me some money to support my brother?" she asked innocently. "He has a rare disease, and I'll need some extra gold to afford medicine. It has to be shipped all the way from Goldoa, and of course I'll have to send several petitions to the Goldoan king to beg for medicine, since the dragons are so isolated from the rest of Tellius." Then she looked down. "Of course, if you can't spare anything, I truly understand..."

"No, Lulu, you have been far too kind to us. We'll give you whatever we can spare," Lydia assured her. "How much should we give her, Sydney?"

"How does 70,000 gold sound?" he suggested with a smile. "We've had such great profits, so don't feel like you're stealing from us."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Lucrezia faked tears and thanked them all deeply, hugging each one in turn. Sydney sent Nathan to fetch the gold, and soon Lucrezia found herself in possession of 70,000 extra gold.

"Thank you again, Sydney, Lydia, Alonzo, and Nathan! I'll miss you all!"

"I hope we meet again!" Alonzo exclaimed. "I'm sure we will!"

"Good bye, everyone!" Lucrezia smiled, gave one last curtsey, and left the inn.

_"Great job, Lulu! You're a better actress than you used to be! Now, it's time to get some profits off of these idiot soldiers," _Naesala was telling her. _"Duke Tanas is filthy rich, I'm sure!"_

Lucrezia joined up with the soldiers and told them she was ready to go to Tanas.

_I suppose my trip to Gallia will be delayed. I wonder what this duke fellow would want with a bard, anyway? I hope he's rich._


	7. Chapter 7: Duke Tanas

_I hated Oliver. Like you have no idea how much I hated him. Not only is he fat and ugly, the chapter where you kill him is in four parts and takes FOREVER!!! So yeah. I had fun with this chapter. Enjoy! And thanks for the reviews last chapter! Love you all!

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Chapter 7 -- Duke Tanas 

The journey to Tanas was fairly short, but Lucrezia was still tired of the soldiers by the time she arrived at the palace. They always requested songs that she hadn't played in several years, which meant plenty of practicing on her part. However, she eventually began charging for requests, so she was at least able to earn some money off of the trip.

Duke Tanas, Oliver, was the fattest beorc Lucrezia had ever seen. The captain of the soliders brought her into Oliver's dining room to introduce her to the duke, and when she saw the immensely large man sitting there she had to cover her mouth to stifle a near bout of laughter. The duke eagerly rose upon seeing her and smiled.

"Well, this certainly is a nice surprise!" Oliver exclaimed. "What kind of songs do you sing, miss...?"

"Lulu," Lucrezia answered, "and I sing a good mix of common ballads and my own original compositions."

"You compose? Oh, how lovely!" The fat duke then returned to his seat and stuffed another cherry into his chubby mouth. "Sing something for me while I eat."

_You mean try to sing while keeping from throwing up... What a pig!_

Lucrezia pulled out her lute and began singing, all the while keeping her eyes closed so she could concentrate. When she finished her song she once again faced the duke, who was still shoving food into his face.

"Lovely, lovely. Play another one."

_Man, I need to come up with a deal to make this worth it,_ Lucrezia thought as she began playing another song. By the time evening rolled around, she was certain that the duke must have eaten more than one of the tigers of Gallia could eat in a day.

Oliver once again stood up and smiled at Lucrezia. She could see remains of spinach sticking out of his teeth.

"Lulu, right? You have pleased me. I would like you to stay here for a few weeks to entertain me. Life as a senator can get a bit dull when there are no major controversies to discuss."

"I really must be on my way to--"

"Captain, show her the spare guest room. She will stay there. I do hope you enjoy your stay, Miss Bard." Then Oliver walked out of the room and headed out through the hallway.

_Sheesh, he didn't even ask! Some beorc can be so rude at times!_ Lucrezia then remembered certain crow laguz who were rude as well. _I suppose it's just something that comes with a title..._

The room they gave to her was much larger than the room she had stayed in at that first town. It was heavily ornate, as usual, but the walls were a bit dark, despite the giant window that took up most of one wall.

"Is there anything else you would like, ma'am?" the captain asked.

"Just some privacy. I would really appreciate it if your lord didn't call for me in the middle of the night. I am... not fond of being up late at night." Lucrezia was thinking of all the times she had been interrupted while preening.

"Well, I'm not sure what I can do about that. The duke's word is law, after all," replied the captain. "Good night then, miss."

Lucrezia shut the door behind him. She began to think of what type of deal she could make with the duke to benefit from this situation.

_"Duke Tanas sure is rich, Lulu! I bet he would pay you if he was desperate enough. Just think of the possibilities! You could even repay your debt before I come searching for you!"_

For once the Naesala in her head was making sense. Lucrezia grinned evilly and began formulating her plan.

The next morning Lucrezia was woken by a loud knocking on her door. She groggily covered her wings and opened the door to find one of the servants.

"My lord Oliver requests that you sing to him this morning," the servant said.

"Tell Oliver that I need to get ready first. Otherwise my voice will sound horrible, and he will not be pleased." With that, Lucrezia shut the door. She made sure to take extra long in getting ready, preening with great care and tuning her lute several times. By the time she finally made her way to the duke's parlor a half hour had passed.

"Miss Lulu, I do hope you are quicker in getting ready next time," the duke said when she walked in.

"My lord Oliver, I must inform you that the life of a troubador is not easy. We can only sing well when we have the right inspiration. Being rushed so early in the morning kills my inspiration; thus, I am unable to perform in a way that would please you." Lucrezia smiled conceitedly. "If I am to be kept here against my will, I should at least receive some favor in return."

The soldiers were all shocked at the bard's boldness. If any of them had talked so, they would have been killed right then and there. However, the duke was merely intrigued.

"You are not from here, are you, Miss Lulu?"

"I am not. I just arrived in Begnion not two weeks ago, and I am still getting accustomed to this extravagant lifestyle you have here. Where I come from, troubadors are held in high esteem. I suppose I am just used to having a bit more respect."

"Pray, where are you from?"

"The place where the winds begin." She then began to sing before he could question her mysterious answer. She was beginning to have fun playing with this fat beorc's mind.

Her songs instantly caused Oliver to forget the previous conversation, so that when she finished he merely dismissed her with a wave of his chunky, bejewelled hand.

Lucrezia spent most of her time in Tanas coming up with ways to trick the duke. His mind was quite dull for a senator, and she began to wonder how Begnion had survived as well as it did. On the third night of her stay, she finally asked to be given leave so she could go to Ridahn.

"But, Miss Lulu! I have come to greatly enjoy your music! I believe I shall hire you full-time!" the duke exclaimed.

"I am afraid that cannot be," Lucrezia answered. "You see, I am trying to earn money to return home, and the only way I can do so would be to travel to various towns until I have gathered enough tips to make my journey."

"No! I want you to stay here!" Oliver was as indignant as a three-year-old child. "I-I'll even pay you!"

Lucrezia looked up at this last statement. "How much?"

"I'll pay you... 500 gold a week!"

"My family really does need my income, my lord. I'm afraid I must be going..."

"1,000 gold!"

"I will stay for 20,000. No more, no less."

"20,000 gold?! No bard charges that much!"

"In my hometown they do. Now, what will it be?" Lucrezia smiled softly. "How much are you willing to pay to keep your lovely bard?"

Oliver scratched his fat chin. "F-Fine. 20,000 gold. But I expect you to stay for at least a week!"

"After the week is up I shall consider it. Good day, my lord." With that, Lucrezia casually walked out of the room and returned to her room.

_I'll be a millionaire when this journey is finished. I may as well retire to Gallia and build my own private estate when I finally make it there!_

In her mind, the crow king was grinning and telling her, _"I would have charged 50,000, but you're making progress."_


	8. Chapter 8: The Zookeeper

_The next few chapters are a little darker than they have been. But I hope you still like them!

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Chapter 8 -- The Zookeeper 

During the next week of her stay in Tanas, Lucrezia soon found that she was getting bored of toying with Oliver. His immense dullness was becoming more annoying than amusing. By the eighth day since she had arrived, Lucrezia soon found herself spending time wandering the vast halls of the Tanas Estate. Most of the walls were either covered with windows that showed the beautiful gardens or paintings of past nobles of Tanas. Lucrezia began to notice that obesity ran in the family.

It took about an hour to walk through the entire estate, but this was mostly because she had taken time to look at each of the portraits. She thought she had been all over the estate when she noticed a door that was barred shut. It wasn't very secure, though, so she was easily able to remove the piece of wood blocking the entrance.

_Maybe there's actually something of great value in here, like a treasure vault or something,_ she thought as she entered the dark room.

Walking along, she began to notice a familiar smell: the smell of animals. Yet this smell was not that of horses or livestock, but of...

_Laguz!_

Lucrezia almost stumbled in shock at what she saw. Hundreds of laguz were chained to the walls, most of them clad in dirty rags, and they all looked sickly. There were members of several tribes, including cats and tigers from the beast tribe, and a few hawks. Some of them did not show any signs of being laguz, except for markings on their faces, which Lucrezia assumed were signs of the dragon tribe.

_What would he want with so many laguz? Oh, my poor friends!_

Lucrezia slowly made her way to one of them, a member of the cat tribe, and asked him what was going on. However, the cat only glared at her and tried to claw her.

"Get away, human!" he hissed.

"I'm not human!" Lucrezia whispered. "I'm laguz! I'm like you!"

"I see no ears. Don't try to play with us. We've been tricked enough times already!"

"I am laguz! I'm..." She glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "I'm a heron."

The cat laughed. "A heron! Now this is interesting. What would a heron be doing back so close to Serenes, and traveling in human garb no less! You can't fool me, human."

Lucrezia sighed and removed the heavy cloak from her shoulders, revealing her white, black-tipped wings.

Gasping, the cat exclaimed, "It's true! You... you are of the heron tribe? How many of you are left?"

"Not many, I am afraid. But please, tell me what is happening here!" Lucrezia was beginning to worry that a beorc servant would see her.

"You must not be aware of the slave trade, then," the cat replied sadly. "We were all kidnapped from various places and taken here to work underground. Goodness, child, get yourself out of here before the same fate befalls one of the noble herons!"

Lucrezia was trying to hold back tears. "I... I will. I was on my way to Gallia before I was distracted by these soldiers who made me stay here as the duke's bard, but no one knows of my heritage. I promise, as soon as I get to Gallia, I'll inform King Caineghis of this atrocity!"

"Thank you, dear heron. Now leave, quickly!" The cat returned to his hunched position, and Lucrezia dashed out of the dungeon, flinging her cloak back around her wings.

Once she was safely in the privacy of her own room, she dropped down to the floor and cried softly.

_The predjudice was awful enough, but this? I must warn King Caineghis and King Tibarn! And even that fool Naesala will want to know about this!_

She looked out the window and saw Oliver wobbling through one of the gardens. He was mentioning something about a special guest, but she really didn't care about that. Instead, she was paying attention to the layout of the garden.

_If I fly out of that door there in the south wing, I should be able to get to the trees in time to hide from the guards. _

She quickly backed away from the window and leaned against the wall before Oliver could notice that she was spying on him. Then she went over to the table on which her lute was resting. When she touched the table, though, she felt something oddly familiar about the wood...

"Is this..?"

She ran her hand over the table and then over the lute. The grain was the same.

"This table came from Serenes..." Lucrezia laid her head on the table and listened to the wood. It still had a faint aura of the trees from her home._ I guess there's not much left of the forest now... _

Soon she had made up her mind to leave that evening, once the duke was asleep. She knew she couldn't risk staying there any longer. Once the moon was high up in the sky, Lucrezia gathered her lute and cloak and the large sum of money she had accumulated. Slipping out of her room, she quietly made her way to the door that led to the gardens. She was just about to open it and fly out when she heard a familiar voice.

"Yeah, this place has been abandoned for a while. Let's just rest here."

"All right. Thank you, Naesala. I thought you didn't understand, but I see that you do now."

Lucrezia gasped. _P-Prince Reyson?!_ She ran over to the source of the voices and saw a room up ahead, with the figures of Naesala and Reyson standing in the light of a small candle. Reyson's white attire and light blonde hair stood as a stark contrast to Naesala's black clothing and dark blue hair. Before she could reach the room, however, a figure closed the door and walked into her.

"Stupid guards, you're supposed to stay quiet, aren't you?"

Lucrezia looked up to see Naesala standing before her.

"Naesala, you have to get out of here, there's--"

Naesala clapped a hand over her mouth and walked her into another room down the hall. He shut the door and let her go, being sure to stay in front of the entrance.

"Goodness, you're the last person I expected to see here, Lulu! How's your journey going?"

"There are laguz slaves here!" Lucrezia gasped. "Oliver is keeping them below in the dungeons! You and Prince Reyson have to leave now, before he finds you!"

Naesala only stared back at her. Then he smirked. "Of course, I already knew about that."

Lucrezia's eyes widened. "Then why...?"

"Ah, I see you've bought yourself a lute. Trying your wing at being a bard again, I see? Has that been successful?"

"Naesala! Listen to me!" Lucrezia desperately grabbed onto his jacket. "You need to leave and warn the other laguz kings!"

"Oh, Lulu, it's so rare to see you so passionate about something. It's almost cute. I wish you would be as passionate about me." Then the crow pushed her face into his and kissed her.

_Something's not right... Why doesn't he care if his fellow laguz are in trouble? And why did he leave Prince Reyson alone in that room?_

Lucrezia pushed herself away and wiped her mouth. "Naesala, what is going on?!"

"You're so much trouble sometimes." Naesala sighed. "Sorry I have to do this, but I have a 100,000 gold offer waiting for me." He hit her on the back of the head, causing her to black out.

The last thing she remembered seeing was Naesala's mischievious smirk.


	9. Chapter 9: Rescue the Prince!

_Woohoo backstory time! More cliffhangers to come... because they're fun:D Enjoy!

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Chapter 9 -- Rescue the Prince! 

Lucrezia woke up to the smell of morning dew. She opened her eyes and discovered she was in the middle of a forest, surrounded by crow soldiers. Sitting up and rubbing her head, she slowly began to remember what had happened...

_"Naesala, what is going on?!" _

_"You're so much trouble sometimes. Sorry I have to do this, but I have a 100,000 gold offer waiting for me."_

"Naesala..." Lucrezia looked around for the crow king. She spotted him standing a few feet away, talking to another crow. He glanced over and noticed that she had come to, so he walked over to her.

"Ah, good morning, Lulu! Did you have a nice sleep?" He was grinning casually, almost too casually.

"Naesala, what are you doing? Where's Prince Reyson?"

"Oh, he'll be staying with Duke Tanas for a while. No need to worry."

Lucrezia then noticed that Naesala was carrying a bag of gold.

_"100,000 gold offer..."_

"You... you _sold_ him?" She could barely squeak the words out.

"Hard to resist such an offer. Now I wouldn't say _sold_, more like lent him to the duke for a while," Naesala explained with a smile.

A fiery anger began to well up in her, and for the first time since the Serenes massacre, Lucrezia was filled with a dark wrath.

"You..."

Suddenly, Lucrezia jumped on top of Naesala, knocking him down to the ground. The other crows turned to her in shock.

"You bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" she screamed as she started to punch him in the face. Then she grabbed his neck and began to choke him.

"Lu...lu, calm...down!" Naesala coughed. "Herons...don't...kill!"

"You sold our prince to that dirty, fat maniac! You sold your _best friend_! How could you do that?! I hate you!"

She finally felt herself releasing the crow king's neck, and she slouched back and sobbed into her hands.

"I hate you..."

Lucrezia was devastated. A laguz had sold his laguz friend into slavery. And he didn't even seem to feel any remorse.

"Now, now, Lulu. It'll be fine! He's just going to be there for a few days, and then once Oliver has forgotten about me I'll go back and rescue your dear prince. That way no one gets hurt, and I get 100,000 gold in the deal!"

Lucrezia slowly looked up at Naesala through teary eyes. He was still smiling as he wiped blood from his nose.

"Why... why would you do something like that for money?" she whispered.

"Like you said, for money. Being the ruler of a country is so boring unless you add some adventure every once in a while. Why do you think King Ashnard started his little war with Crimea? He was bored."

Lucrezia was getting sick of hearing this filth spout out from the crow's mouth. She stood up and glared at him.

"You are the worst person I have ever met. I hope you die." Then she spread her wings and soared off toward Tanas, leaving the crows behind her, staring in awe.

Unfortunately, Lucrezia had no idea where she was, so she had to search for the estate from the air while trying to find her bearings. By the time she reached Sienne it was already dark.

_I have to stop... They took me so far away to the north. We must have been in Daein!_

Lucrezia sat down underneath a large oak tree and took out her lute. She didn't want to risk staying in the capital itself, in case a soldier from Tanas would spot her and recognize her.

_I can't believe Naesala did that. Oh, Prince Reyson, if only I had been quicker, I could have saved you!_

She didn't want to imagine what kind of hardships the prince was facing right now. Instead, she thought about how she could sneak into the estate and rescue the prince, and while she was at it, rescue the other laguz slaves in the dungeon. She remembered how large the windows were. If she could regain Oliver's trust and get her old room back, she could probably sneak Prince Reyson into her room and fly him out through the large window. Then, once she had escaped to Gallia with the prince, she could inform King Caineghis of the situation and bring a group of Gallian soldiers to free the others. She strummed on her lute while concocting her plan, and soon she found herself playing the "Lost Canto" of Master Robins.

_I wonder where Master Robins went after the massacre... He always said that he liked living near Serenes because of its inspiration to him..._

Before long, Lucrezia was asleep under the oak tree, dreaming of her childhood in the forest of Serenes.

_"Goodness, a heron laguz? How on earth did you get inside my house?"_

_Lucrezia was still a fledgling when she first met Master Robins. She had seen him at the edge of the forest and followed him back to his house._

_"Me...Lucrezia. I... music..." Lucrezia only knew a few words of the beorc tongue, since herons spoke mainly in the ancient language. _

_"You like this?" He held up a lute and pointed to it. She nodded in reply._

_"Well, I would give you one but I don't have one to spare at the moment. I'm not sure you should be here, though. You might get in trouble, little heron!"_

_"I... music." She reached for Robins' lute and plucked a string. "Like!" she said with a smile. _

_"That's nice, but please, you should return to the forest!"_

_She could not understand him, though, so she continued to pluck the string. Then she looked up at him with pleading in her eyes. She wanted to ask him to teach her how to play, but she didn't know the words._

_However, Robins finally seemed to get her meaning, so he sat down and invited her to sit on his knee. _

_"Here, put your fingers on this string, like this..." He helped her get the right fingering on the lute. Then he plucked a string. "You try!"_

_Lucrezia looked at him curiously and then plucked the string. The sound was very mellow, which pleased her._

_"Hm, you're not bad!" Robins exclaimed. "Your pizzicato is very good for a beginner! Okay, now pluck these three strings in this order..." He plucked three different strings, making a nice arpeggio._

_She followed his lead and then giggled when she recognized the arpeggio. "Like!" Then she sighed. She wanted to thank him for teaching her, but she didn't know the right words to say._

_"Well, if I'm going to teach you how to play the lute, I might as well teach you the common tongue..." Robins sighed. "You certainly are a curious little heron." _

_Every week after that she would sneak out of the forest and go to Master Robins' house. He only taught her because she had a natural talent for music, and because she was so young and innocent-looking. _

_It had taken several weeks before Lucrezia learned enough of the common tongue to speak with Robins. However, she was able to figure out various phrases by listening as he spoke. After she had been learning from Robins for four months, she was able to ask him other questions about the beorc._

_"What you eat?" she asked suddenly one morning._

_"You mean everyday?" Robins laughed. "Whatever I can afford. Being a musician isn't exactly an easy career. I suppose I normally eat bread, potatoes, and beef of some sort. I really should eat more vegetables."_

_Lucrezia scratched her head. "Why you live here? Other beorc live in towns with other beorc."_

_"Goodness, you're full of questions today! I live here because your forest is so beautiful. I suppose it helps inspire me to write songs. I just finished composing one last night. Would you like to hear it?"_

_"Yes!" Lucrezia eagerly sat up and listened as Robins played._

_"I'm thinking of calling it the 'Lost Canto,'" he explained when he had finished. "What do you think?"_

_"Pretty," she replied. "You teach me?"_

_"Oh dear, Lucrezia! I don't think you're quite ready to learn that one! It uses more advanced techniques that you haven't learned yet!"_

_Lucrezia frowned. "Fine..." But she was still determined to learn it. When she returned to the forest she made her own practice lute out of grasses and twigs, and every day she would pretend to be playing the "Lost Canto." The other herons looked at her in confusion as she sat and plucked her grasses. They thought she was going crazy, but Lucrezia didn't care. She was so intent on learning to play the lute that she wanted to spend all of her time practicing. One morning she had gotten up early to practice when a young Prince Reyson happened to be going by her._

_"Pardon me, but what exactly are you doing?" he asked in the old tongue._

_"Oh, n-nothing! Just, um... experimenting, your majesty!" she squeaked in reply, also in the old tongue._

_"You've been sneaking out, haven't you?" Reyson whispered. "You're going to learn how to play some instrument from that beorc man who lives on the edge of the forest."_

_"H-how did you know that?"_

_"I overheard your mother talking with Lillia. She thinks that you've been sneaking out because you're always disappearing."_

_Lucrezia looked down in embarrassment. "Are you going to tell King Lorazieh?"_

_Reyson thought for a moment. "Maybe. Unless you play for me sometime."_

_"Unless I play for you, your majesty?" She looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please! I'll see if I can borrow a real lute and then I'll play for you! I promise, your majesty! But please, don't tell anyone about me sneaking out!"_

_Reyson smiled. "To be honest, I've always wanted to hear a lute. I promise I won't tell anyone."_

_After that, the two of them became very close friends. Lucrezia would borrow a lute from Master Robins, saying that she wanted one to practice on, and then she and Reyson would sneak over to a secluded part of the forest so she could play for him. To her, Reyson became less like a prince and more like her biggest fan, since he was the only audience member she ever had. The other heron nobles seemed to avoid her, especially Raphiel, but Reyson always talked to her..._

Lucrezia woke up with a start. The sun was already high in the sky. She sighed and leaned against the tree.

"Prince Reyson... I'll make sure I rescue you..." she whispered to herself as she spread her wings and soared off.


	10. Chapter 10: Rebirth

_Yeah, I'm not too happy at how this chapter turned out... but Chapter 11 is so cool that I kinda rushed through this one. Oops. So yeah, hope you still like it! :D_

Chapter 10 -- Rebirth

When Lucrezia finally arrived at the Tanas estate the next day, she discovered that it was completely abandoned. She wandered throughout all of the hallways, even the dungeons. Not a single soul was in there. She saw evidence of some sort of battle: scorch marks from Fire spells, broken lances, even a few blood stains on the rugs.

_I wonder if someone tried to steal his possessions... he has so many of them..._

Lucrezia finally gave up searching the estate and decided to ask townspeople in the surrounding villages. There were rumors flying about of a group of mercenaries that defeated some of the duke's best soldiers and ran the duke out of his estate. No one knew where the duke had gone, nor why the mercenaries had attacked, other than that the mercenaries had been hired by the apostle herself. One person even told Lucrezia that he had seen a winged angel fly out of the estate. Lucrezia hoped that this "angel" was Prince Reyson.

_I hope the apostle did this to free the laguz slaves! It's about time something was done..._

She decided to go to Sienne and find these mercenaries. Surely one of them would have seen Prince Reyson if they cleared the entire estate out.

Once again, Lucrezia found herself flying toward the capital. Fortunately, it was not very far from Tanas, so she figured she would be there in an hour. However, when she was halfway there she began to feel a familiar sensation.

_This is... this is like when I was in Serenes!_

A song began to formulate in her head, one that she had heard when she was just a child. She started to hum it a little, and then she remembered.

_Rebirth! The galdrar of rebirth! Only the royal family is supposed to know that! Prince Reyson must be singing it!_

Lucrezia turned around and soared back to Serenes, hopes extremely high. As she neared the woods, she saw the once-dead trees come to life. Everything was once again green and full of vitality.

_I had almost forgotten how beautiful it was..._

Tears began rolling down her cheeks. She never thought she would ever see the forest be reborn. She excitedly dove down into the forest and flew through the trees, slowly becoming reacquainted with her homeland. The song was coming from the heart of the forest, where the altar had been. Finally, she saw the stone structure ahead of her, with two white-clad herons standing in front of it.

"Prince Reyson!"

Lucrezia rushed up to the prince and hugged him, sobbing into his coat.

"Oh, Prince Reyson! I thought they had hurt you! I wanted to help you, but you're okay! Oh, thank goodness you're alive!"

"Lu...Lucrezia?"

Lucrezia looked up and realized she had made a very informal gesture. She quickly backed away and posed herself into a humble bow.

"My lord, I apologize." She giggled. "I was just so overjoyed to see you! I was in Duke Tanas' estate when I saw you and Naesala, and..."

"You were there, too? You mean you were enslaved as well?" Reyson was shocked.

"No, my lord. I was under the guise of a troubador. I've been on the run from Daein for about a month now." She looked up at her prince. "My lord, it was Naesala..."

"Yes, I know." Reyson's face looked deeply troubled. "I know he sold me to that repulsive duke. I... I don't think I could ever forgive him for it."

A soft voice interrupted them. It spoke in the old language of the herons.

"Are you the Lucrezia who was my brother's best friend?"

Lucrezia had almost forgotten about the other heron. She looked over to see a girl with blonde hair and white wings identical to Reyson's.

"L-Leanne? Princess Leanne?"

The girl nodded. "It's so nice to see another heron after so long!" she exclaimed in heron tongue.

"Leanne was protected by the forest during the massacre twenty years ago," Reyson explained. "I had thought she was dead until today, when I saw Ike protecting her."

"Ike? Who is that?"

"He's the leader of the group of mercenaries who defeated Duke Tanas and saved both my sister and me," he answered. "They were ordered to by the apostle of Begnion. She wished to apologize to the herons on behalf of Begnion for their atrocious acts toward us twenty years ago."

"You mean the beorc have apologized?" Lucrezia was astonished.

"Yes, and I have forgiven them on behalf of the herons. We plan to work together to restore friendly relations between the beorc and the herons."

Lucrezia grinned. "Wonderful! This will make traveling much easier!"

Reyson's face turned grim. "Lucrezia, I would ask that you leave beorc lands and go to Phoenicis."

"M-my lord? But why?"

"There are still plenty of dangerous beorc out there. While I am strengthened at the knowledge that my sister is alive, there are still very few of us herons left. If anything were to happen to you, Father and I would be devastated."

Lucrezia sighed. "Please, my lord, let me look for Naesala. I want to take revenge on him for the treachery he has committed against the heron clan... and against me."

Reyson looked at her in surprise. "Lucrezia, you have changed. You never harbored such anger before."

"His actions are far worse than what you know," Lucrezia explained.

The prince thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose I must confide in you that I myself plan on going to Daein to join Ike and his men in their fight against Daein. They are part of the Crimean Liberation Army, and I owe him much for saving us. I want to help him out in combat."

Lucrezia's eyes widened, and she started laughing.

"What is it, Lucrezia?" the prince asked with a confused expression.

"Nothing, it's just..." Lucrezia stood up. "You always despised beorc so, even before the massacre. And now you want to help them out! You really have changed, my lord, if I may be so bold to say. Does this mean you plan on fighting?"

"No, of course not! I have the ability to rejuvenate tired souls, you know."

"Ah, I see, my lord. Well, we both have reasons to head out into the danger then, don't we?" She smiled.

"I suppose so."

Leanne turned to her brother with pleading eyes. "Reyson, can't I come along with you?"

"No, Leanne!" Reyson sighed. "I just got you back! I don't want to lose you again!"

"But how come you get to go?" She frowned. "It's just because I'm a girl, isn't it?"

"Maybe..." Reyson shook his head. "I shouldn't even be going, but... I guess I just feel like I owe them something."

Lucrezia giggled. "Princess, you're just as stubborn as your brother!"

"S-stubborn? How am I stubborn?" Reyson crossed his arms.

"My lord, you're just as desperate to go as she is." Lucrezia smiled. "I suppose stubbornness is a quality of all of the heron tribe. I'm desperate to go after Naesala, and you and Princess Leanne want to help your new beorc friends."

Reyson sighed. "Yes, you're right, Lucrezia. But I'm still worried about Leanne being out there in all the fighting." Then he turned to his sister. "Leanne, just for a little while, stay with the hawks in Phoenicis. Father will want to see you again, I'm sure!"

Leanne suddenly smiled. "Oh, right! Father's there! I do want to see him again!" She nodded. "Okay, I'll stay with the hawks. But you and Lucrezia have to promise me that you'll be safe!"

"I promise, my lady," Lucrezia said with a bow.

"I won't let myself get into too much danger, Leanne. Don't worry about me," Reyson replied.

Leanne giggled. "Okay! Take care of yourself, Lucrezia! My brother's counting on you!"

"Thank you, Princess. Well, I must be off!" Lucrezia stretched her wings and prepared to take flight.

"Lucrezia!" Reyson called before she had cleared the trees.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Don't get yourself killed!"

"The same to you, Prince Reyson! Take care!" With that, Lucrezia once again left her beloved homeland to start on another journey.


	11. Chapter 11: The Chase

_Woohoo exciting chapter! And it's got a cliffhanger! (sorry... it's just so much fun!)_

Chapter 11 -- The Chase

The snowy weather of Daein made following Naesala's trail difficult. Most of the time the visibility was low due to snowstorms, and sometimes the wind would be so bad that Lucrezia had to stop flying. A week passed before she finally found herself near a Daein camp. She recognized it by the black tents and black armor of the soldiers. She watched the camp closely for a few hours before she spotted black-winged messengers flying in.

_So the crows are working with Daein, then..._

Anyone who had lived on Tellius their whole life would know that the people of Daein despised the laguz. The fact that Kilvas was allied with Daein made Lucrezia's anger rise even more.

_He didn't care about the slaves. He didn't care about selling Prince Reyson. Now he doesn't care about helping a country that's known to be anti-laguz!_

Lucrezia knew that she had to find Naesala alone. She waited for a few days until she was able to find a lone crow scout in the woods. She snuck up behind him and pulled out a knife she had purchased before leaving Begnion. Then she quickly pressed it to the crow's neck, causing him to turn around and gasp in shock to see the heron standing before him.

"L-Lu? What are you do--"

"What is that despicable king of yours doing?" she yelled. "What madness has seized him that he's now working with Daein? Tell me!"

The crow remained speechless, mostly because his old partner was now threatening to kill him.

"Tell me, crow, or I'll kill you!"

Gulping, the crow stammered, "W-We're getting paid! They promised King Naesala up to 150,000 gold if he gives them reinforcements! That's all!"

Lucrezia glared at him. "Where is Naesala?"

Silence.

"WHERE IS NAESALA?" The once-placid heron was now wild-eyed, with murder as the only thought in her mind.

"I-I don't know. He comes in and out. Usually he's with that General Petrine or whatever. C'mon, Lu! Calm down!"

Lucrezia released the crow and stepped back. "Tell Naesala that his little 'Lulu' is following him, and she plans to get her revenge."

The crow merely gulped and took off. She watched as his black wings faded in the snowy air.

_I'll just follow this camp, then. Charging it alone would be suicide. I need to wait until I see Naesala fly out by himself, and then I'll follow him. And then I'll kill him for his treachery... _

The next few days led Lucrezia through more blinding snowstorms. She began to marvel at the persistence of the Daein soldiers, for they hardly ever stopped to camp and wait for better weather. However, she still saw no sign of Naesala.

Finally, the soldiers arrived at their destination: a small fort that's primary purpose was to keep supplies available for traveling soldiers. Lucrezia waited in the forest, perching on a branch in a fairly-concealed tree that had a good view of the fort's entrance. The entrance was heavily guarded, but the sides were fairly defenseless. On the night of their arrival, Lucrezia finally saw the crow king through a window. He was talking with a large-busted woman with long, raven-black hair.

_Found himself another pet, I see..._ Lucrezia thought bitterly as she saw Naesala give his mischievous grin to the woman several times. She seemed to be in charge of the unit of soldiers, for her face showed authority.

The next day, Lucrezia carefully observed the routine of the soldiers and crows. The guard was strongest during twilight hours, and it was weakest in the early morning, right before the sun rose. Also, Naesala tended to be in that one room, talking with the black-haired woman. If he wasn't in there, it was usually because he was with the other crows on scouting missions. During these missions, Lucrezia made sure to stay hidden in the tree's foliage. She also covered her white wings with her cloak, since the wings stood out among the dark leaves of the tree.

Finally, night time came. Lucrezia had slept during the day so she would be awake and alert for her task. She only had one chance to get this right, and if she failed, she could easily be killed. However, her mania was so strong that fiery anger replaced any apprehension about her plan.

_I want to see him dead more than anything,_ she thought as she watched him flirt with the woman one last time before he went off to sleep. The woman seemed much too clever to fall for Naesala's charm, though, so she usually ignored it. _If I wasn't on a mission to avenge Prince Reyson, I would almost like to stay here and watch this silly little drama unfold._

The woman left, and Naesala blew out the candle. Now Lucrezia was unable to see into the window, but she was certain that the crow would be asleep in there by early morning. She saw the guard decrease to only two patrolling soldiers and knew this was her chance. Spreading her wings, she leapt from the tree and flew straight to that window.

She was able to get to it unseen, so she landed on the floor of the room with great confidence. Unfortunately, her bird eyes were not strong in the dark, so she could not see where Naesala was sleeping. She was beginning to see a flaw in her plan, but she continued to squint around the room. In the dim moonlight she began to realize, to her dismay, that this was not Naesala's bedroom, but merely a storage room.

_I'll have to sneak out into the halls... Please, Reyson, be with me..._

Lucrezia slowly opened the door and peered down the hallway. It was dimly lit by torches, but there was just enough light for her to make her way through. She cautiously snuck over the stone floor, making sure to listen for nearby soldiers. She had no idea where the crow king would be, but she had a feeling that he would have insisted on having the biggest, most ornate room in the building. Soon she spotted a set of double doors, with a stray black feather lying close by on the ground.

_That's him... Prepare yourself, crow!_

Caution was being replaced with madness, anger, and a desire to kill. She began walk faster in step with her rapidly beating heart.

_I'll get you... you'll regret all those playful kisses, you dirty--_

Suddenly, she felt something hit her leg, and she fell over with a loud clank. Madness slowly oozed out of her, letting reality knock into the back of her head. She glanced to the ground to see a stray lance lying in front of her. She had tripped.

"It was over here! I heard a crashing sound!"

_Damn... I have to get out of here..._

Lucrezia quickly searched around for a place to hide, but there was nothing large enough to conceal her. She decided to run for it, until she heard soldiers coming from both directions. Small torch lights began rushing closer to her.

_I have a knife... I can try to fight!_

Unsheathing her knife, she stood up and got into the best fighting stance she could think of. The lights were getting closer, so close that she could see the soldiers' helmets.

"It's a girl! She must have snuck in the back!"

"Must be a thief!"

Lucrezia had been careful to put her cloak on, so they could not see her wings.

"Come and fight me, bloody soldiers!" she shouted. However, her voice was wavering in fear.

There were four soldiers surrounding her, so all she could do now was swing her small dagger at them. They charged her from both sides, with such speed that she couldn't fend them all off at once. She landed a swift blow in a soldier's stomach, causing him to stumble backward. However, her brief moment of triumph was interrupted by a sharp whack in her back. She flew forward and hit the ground. She tried to get up, but as she attempted to stand her back seared in pain. Soon, another soldier was on her, holding her arms back and taking her dagger.

"What's all this commotion about?"

Lucrezia looked over the soldier's shoulder to see the black-haired woman, carrying a long, sharp lance.

"G-General Petrine! We've found a thief sneaking about the hallways!" the soldier answered.

The woman, General Petrine, leaned over to get a closer look at Lucrezia. Her dark eyes seemed to be looking straight into Lucrezia's soul.

"Aw, what a cute thief! You must think you're so strong, injuring one of my men!"

Lucrezia took her chance and kicked the soldier off of her. Then she ran off down the hallway, ignoring the sharp pain in her back. She could hear Petrine shouting orders at the soldiers behind her. Moonlight once again greeted her as she saw a window up ahead. Unfortunately, before she could spread her wings to fly out, another sharp pain hit her shoulder. She hit the ground with a cry.

"I got her!" the soldier exclaimed. Once again Lucrezia found herself surrounded. She cringed in pain as a soldier thrust her against the wall.

"Search her for weapons!" Petrine ordered.

The pain was becoming unbearable. Even when she opened her eyes she could not see much. She felt someone remove her cloak and heard the gasps of shock.

"White wings! A sub-human!"

"General, we caught ourselves a heron!"

Lucrezia was able to make out Petrine's evil grin hiding behind her dark lance. The hot metal tip was pressed against her neck.

"Now, what would a little heron sub-human be doing in a Daein fort with a knife, hm?" the general asked in mock sweetness.

The heron only stared back in defiance.

"Won't talk, eh? Maybe a little bit of heat will change your mind..."

Lucrezia watched in horror as fire began spurting out from the lance...

_Why did I sneak in here? Now I'll die... Prince Reyson, I'm sorry..._

"Dear goodness, what is all this noise? Can't a crow sleep in peace?"


	12. Chapter 12: Questions

_So yeah. This chapter is mostly talking, but I hope it helps to explain a few things. Hooray for flashbacks!_

Chapter 12-- Questions

Lucrezia woke up to find herself on a straw mattress in an empty cell. She tried to sit up but winced at the pain in her side. Memories began flooding back to her as she remembered her failed attempt to get away from the soldiers.

"Lu, I wouldn't suggest sitting up at the moment. You're lucky I convinced the soldiers to let you live!"

Lucrezia turned to see Naesala leaning against one of the walls. He was playing with her lute.

"Naesala? Why did you help me?" She began to feel ashamed of her previous desire to kill him.

"I didn't, really. I just said that you would be valuable to the king, and they could probably sell you for a fortune." He grinned and plucked a note on the lute.

"Of course you did..." She rubbed the back of her head, which was still fairly sore from her faint. "And the money you make would repay my debt. Is that it?"

"Ah, you're catching on pretty fast, my little heron," he replied. "You know, there's a nice little plot of land on the edge of Begnion that I might be able to purchase for a small fee. Would be nice to have some more scouting territory, you know."

"Yes, I'm sure." The question had been burning inside her long enough. "Naesala, why... why did you sell Prince Reyson to that fat slob of a senator? Did you seriously just do it for the money?"

"Why else would I? Reyson most certainly is a good friend of mine," the crow king answered.

"He no longer seems to think so."

"What did I tell you? He got rescued! Everything turned out all right! Why get all touchy about the details?" Naesala continued to play the lute, which, surprisingly, he had some skill in. "You know, when you went all manic in the forest, it really surprised me. Even Reyson doesn't get that upset about stuff, and you know how much he despises beorc."

Lucrezia looked down at her hands. "You don't understand, Naesala. You have plenty of friends and family left. But we herons... there are hardly any of us left. I lost just about everyone back then, even my little sister..."

She felt the lute plop down into her arms.

"Play something."

She angrily looked up at the crow. "Are you even listening to me?"

"I bet you spent my white gem on that lute, didn't you?" Lucrezia blushed in reply. "Well, I want to see what my money got you. Play something."

"I hate you..." She picked up the lute and began strumming softly. It was an old traditional Serenes piece that she had written accompaniment for. She wasn't amused by the idea of performing for Naesala, but she was so upset at the moment that she felt only music would calm her down and cheer her up. Memories of the forest flashed in her mind, mostly of her younger sister Lena picking flowers and singing.

When she finished she only continued to stare out the window in silence. Snow was slowly falling, adding to the white icing on the cake of the earth.

"It's cold here," she finally murmured. "And not just the weather. The people here are so empty and heartless..." Then she looked back at Naesala, who was watching her. "You would ally yourself with these people? These laguz-haters? They would sooner kill you than give you money if they didn't need reinforcements."

"It's worth it," Naesala replied. "You, my friend, are also unable to understand."

"Oh, is this more of your 'it's so boring being a ruler' crap that you're so fond of?"

"Possibly. But it seems that I am late for my meeting with that dog Petrine. You know, as much as I hate humans, that Petrine really is an idiot. It's almost amusing." With that, he turned and left the room.

"I still don't get him..." Lucrezia whispered to herself. She sighed and played another song, one that Master Robins had taught her. She thought back to happier days, when her only concern was getting out of the forest without being noticed...

_"Lulu, where are you going?"_

_"J-just stretching my wings, Lena! Go back and help Mother with her dress."_

_"I wanna go with you, Lulu! I wanna play the lute, too!"_

_"H-how do you know about that? Have you been following me?"_

_"No! Of course not! Tee hee!"_

_"Lena! Promise me you won't tell! I'll ask my friend if he'll teach you, too, but you have to promise not to tell!"_

_"Really? Oh, Lulu, you're the bestest sis ever! I promise!"_

That had been her last conversation with her little sister. That night, while she was getting ready to head back to the woods, she had seen a mob of beorc with torches running to the forest...

_"Lucrezia! Get back in the house!"_

_"M-master Robins? What's going on? Why are they running to Serenes?"_

_"Get in the house, Lucrezia! Hurry!" Master Robins grabbed her and pushed her inside his house._

_"Get under this blanket! Don't let yourself be seen!"_

_"What's happening?" _

_"They're not right... Something's not right with them..."_

_She had only peered out from under the blanket once to see her beloved forest up in flames. The screams of the herons could be heard over the shouts of the manic beorc._

_"Master Robins! We have to stop them! What are they doing?!"_

_"Lucrezia! Stay hidden! Your life depends on it!"_

_"What about Mother and Father and Lena? They're trapped! I have to help them!"_

_Robins had thrown the blanket back over her and held her tight in place as she flailed about, screaming for help._

_The next morning, after the crowd had cleared, she ran outside and stared in horror at the smoke and blackened trees..._

_"Mother! Father! Lena! Where are you?"_

_"Lucrezia, I'm afraid--"_

_"No! They're here! Prince Reyson! Where are you?"_

_"They're gone, Lucrezia..."_

_She sobbed into Robins' arms as she continued to scream the names of her friends and family._

Lucrezia sat up, realizing that she had fallen asleep, and she was crying. It had been twenty years, but the event still shocked her every time it replayed in her mind. She clutched the lute close to her chest and pictured Lena one last time, with her blonde pigtails flapping up and down.

_I have to go back. There's no sense in staying here and being captive. I have to get out of here. Prince Reyson, I should have listened to you and gone to Phoenicis..._

"Goodness, Lulu, I leave you alone for an hour and you're an emotional wreck!"

Naesala entered the room again, twisting a small pouch of coins in his hand.

"Get me out of here," she whispered.

The crow stared at her in shock. "What is this? An order or a request for help?"

"Both," she replied. "Don't play games. I'll pay you back twice the amount of my debt. Just do it!"

Naesala thought for a moment. "Hm, let's see... I get 100,000 for turning you in, plus an extra 50,000 for giving the idea to Petrine in the first place. You owe me 100,000, plus 10,000 for the white gem, which I charged interest on, so that means it's 35,000. Then you plan to double this... That makes it 610,000 that you would owe me."

"It would be 570,000, you fool! Where did you get that extra 40,000 from?"

"Room and board from when you stayed in Kilvas, of course!" he answered with a smile. "Now, where will you get such a hefty sum of gold?"

"I'll manage..." She was really just desperate to leave.

"Sure you will, Lulu." He laughed and came closer to her. "I'll cut it to 300,000 if you have some fun with me before you go!"

"No, you idiot crow!" she shouted angrily. "I refuse to touch your filthy face ever again!"

"450,000 for a kiss?"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "This is all just a game to you, isn't it? Why did I ever come to you for help in the first place?" She turned away and cried softly.

"Dear, dear. You really are a mess..."

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," she mumbled.

She felt a hand pat her shoulder. "There, there, Lulu. Don't get all depressed like that! Why don't you play another song?"

"Naesala... why do you like to tease me so much? What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you, Lulu! Where did you get that idea? You're my little Lulu!" He turned her face toward his. "Who else calls you Lulu besides me?"

"Lena did...

"Lena?"

"My baby sister!" She was feeling exhausted by this point. "Naesala, if you won't help me, then just say so! I'll get out myself, then!"

Naesala sighed. "Only for a fee. But I'll make it easier on you."

Lucrezia looked at him curiously. "Easier? Yeah, right..."

Naesala grinned. "All right, hold on tight."

"What?"

The crow king lifted her up out of the bed and rushed from the room. He flew over to the nearest window and soared out of it, leaving the fort a small speck on the ground.

"It just so happens that the majority of the soldiers are fighting with the Crimean Liberation Army at the moment," Naesala explained as they flew. "So, to be honest, I was planning on getting you out of there anyway. I was just curious to see what lengths you were willing to go to for me to rescue you."

"You just like messing with me..." she muttered. _Damn crow…_

Soon they had landed in a clearing far from the fort. Naesala let go of Lucrezia and stretched his wings.

"Okay, Naesala, what's the catch?" she demanded. "Are you going to triple my rates or something?"

"No, no. You only have to pay 300,500 gold." Naesala smiled. "And you have to promise me two things."

"What?"

"First, stop trying to kill me. The way you're acting is freaking me out," the crow remarked.

Lucrezia sighed. "I know... As I was playing earlier I began to realize how foolish I've been. I won't kill you." Then she glared at him. "But I still want to hurt you."

"Don't hurt me, then."

"What's the second thing?"

Naesala scratched his head. "When this is all over, you have to promise me that you'll come back to Kilvas and stay with me. Deal?"

"No. I refuse. I never want to go back to Kilvas again."

"Aw, well, then I guess you're going to Daein." Naesala grabbed her arm. "Let's go!"

"Wait! I have a better deal!" Lucrezia squeaked. "You rescue me, and I won't hurt you. Also, I'll make sure that the Serenes royal family does not hurt you."

"Hm, I suppose..."

"And, one more thing!"

Naesala grinned. "Now, I think this deal is bending a bit more in your favor if I have to do something else."

Lucrezia grabbed onto his jacket. "Naesala, I'll do whatever you want... almost anything... if you promise me that you'll cut your ties with Daein."

"Cut my ties with Daein? When they're paying me so well?" Naesala shook his head. "I see no profit in it for me."

"What do you want, then?" she asked.

Naesala thought for a moment. "You repay your debt, and keep the heron clan from hurting me. And..." He leaned in closer to her. "Live in Kilvas when this is all over."

Lucrezia cringed. She desperately wanted Naesala to stop aiding the country that so despised her race, but she deplored the thought of living with him.

"Deal," she finally replied. "I'll... live in Kilvas."

Naesala smirked. "Excellent! Then it's settled! I'll cut my ties after my next payment, then! Aren't I so nice?" Then he lifted her chin. "Honestly, Lulu, do you still hate me? After all, every time we've parted you've confided in me how much you seem to despise me so."

Lucrezia slowly touched his cheek. "Well..." Then she slapped him. "Yes, I still hate you very much! Just because I'm going to stay in Kilvas doesn't mean I'll like it."

Naesala rubbed his cheek. "Feisty, aren't we? Fine, fine. Can I kiss you again?"

"No." Lucrezia gathered up her cloak and lute and soared off. However, she hovered for a moment and turned to face him. "Naesala?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Just keep your promise, sweetie!" He blew a kiss in her direction.

"Ugh..." Lucrezia turned again and flew away. She didn't know where she would go, since she wasn't quite sure where she was.

_I suppose I'll just have to go wherever the wind takes me..._


	13. Chapter 13: The Greil Mercenaries

_Phew, sorry for the delay. I was in New York. Anyways, enter the Greil Mercenaries!_

Chapter 13 -- The Greil Mercenaries

Several days had passed since Lucrezia left the fort and her plans for murder behind. The fact that such rage existed in her was still a large concern on her mind. At night she slept in the forest, playing her lute to help her sleep. The cold weather was keeping her from traveling large distances in one day, though, so her progress through Daein was very slow.

One morning she found herself by a lake that hadn't yet frozen over. The wind was gentle, the perfect weather for flying.

_I could really use some fish for breakfast,_ she thought as she stared at the lake. _Nuts and berries aren't very substantial..._

So far she hadn't encountered anyone since she left the fort, so she felt no danger in changing into her heron form to hunt for fish. She flew out a little ways over the lake and spotted a large fish from the air. Instantly she swooped down to catch it, grabbing it in her long beak and then flying back to shore to eat it.

_Man, this is yummy! I haven't had fish in so long!_ She flew out a couple more times before her stomach was satisfied. However, the thrill of flying over the lake and through the trees was so tempting that she continued to soar about, trying various tricks and dives. She was so engrossed in her flying that she didn't notice the two beorc archers who had made their way to the edge of the lake.

Suddenly, an arrow flew past her head. She glanced back and saw that the archers were shooting at her.

_Dammit! They must think I'm a real heron! I have to transform back!_ However, she then realized that if she transformed she would put herself in danger of getting captured again. _Man, I'm really in a jam now..._

She decided her best bet would be to dodge the arrows as well as she could until she found sufficient cover in the woods. Arrows continued to fly by her face as she soared over the lake. She glanced back and noticed that the archers had disappeared.

_Maybe they gave up?_

She grinned in satisfaction (as well as herons can grin) and began to fly back to the shore. Unfortunately, she had misjudged her situation, for just then she saw an arrow coming straight for her. This time she noticed it too late, and it hit her sharply in the wing. She cried out and tried to fly over to the forest, but her wing seared with pain every time she flapped it.

_I have to get out of here,_ she thought desperately as she found a small clearing. She tried to land, but her wing finally gave out. She found herself transforming back to her human form as she crashed to the ground.

"I think it fell somewhere over here!" came a young, high-pitched voice. "Good shot, Uncle Shinon!"

She glanced up and saw a blonde-haired boy running toward her. He stopped when he noticed that the heron they had shot down was actually a laguz.

The other archer, who was apparently named Shinon, came up behind the boy. He ran a hand through his fuschia hair and sighed.

"Naturally... a sub-human," he muttered. "I was hoping to get a decent meal for once..."

The boy ran up to her and kneeled down. "Are you okay, Miss Heron? I'm so sorry! We thought you were a real heron!"

Lucrezia was a little stunned by the beorc boy's sudden kindness. "Y-yes, I'm fine..." However, she winced as she tried to move her wing.

"Here, I'll try to get it out," the boy offered.

"Rolf, why bother?" Shinon yelled. "She's just a sub-human! She's not worth our time!"

"But, she's hurt!" Rolf protested. "We were the ones who hurt her! We have to help her!"

Shinon shook his head and walked away.

"What's his problem?" Lucrezia mumbled.

"I'm sorry!" Rolf replied. "Uncle Shinon doesn't like laguz for some reason..." He gently pulled the arrow out of her wing. She grimaced as it came out and quickly covered the wound to keep the blood from flowing too much.

"It didn't go in too far," Rolf remarked. "I hope it heals! I really am sorry!"

"It's okay, kid, really." She forced a smile through the pain. "You're a nice kid. Rolf, right?"

"Yeah!" He grinned. "I'm a part of the Greil Mercenaries! We're helping out the Crimean Liberation Army!"

Lucrezia's eyes lit up. "You mean you're the ones who helped Prince Reyson and Princess Leanne?"

"Oh, yeah! Reyson's with us right now!" Rolf exclaimed. "He's really nice!"

"Could you possibly take me to your camp?" she asked. "I want to thank your leader for saving the prince. There are so few of us left..."

Rolf nodded. "Of course! Ike won't mind!" Then he stood up. "Can you walk, Miss Heron?"

"I... I'm not sure..." She tried standing but found that her legs were sore from the rough landing. "I don't think so..."

"Okay. Wait here! I'll get someone to help carry you!"

Lucrezia grabbed his arm before he ran off. "Rolf, could I ask another favor? My cloak and lute are still under a tree near the shore of the lake. Could you bring them back here?"

"Yeah, I'll do that!" Rolf grinned. "I'll be right back, Miss Heron!"

Lucrezia smiled back. "The name's Lucrezia. Thank you for everything."

Rolf nodded and ran off. In a short time he had returned with her things, along with a larger man with green hair.

"You found a heron laguz?!" the man exclaimed. "Rolf, what have you been up to _this_ time?"

"It's a long story. Please, can you carry her?" Rold pleaded.

"Yeah, yeah. I hope you didn't do anything stupid."

"It was an honest mistake," Lucrezia replied. "Thank you for helping me."

"This is my big brother Boyd," Rolf explained. "He's really strong so he can carry you!"

Lucrezia giggled. Rolf's innocence was already softening her up around these unfamiliar beorc.

"All right, hold on tight," Boyd muttered as he picked her up. He lifted her up with ease and carried her back to the camp, while Rolf followed behind.

The camp was bustling about, for everyone was getting ready for the day. Lucrezia noticed that several beast laguz were among the soldiers of the camp.

"You have laguz fighting with you?" she asked Boyd.

"Yeah, Gallia is offering us aid. They're great to have around, I have to say."

Boyd dropped her off at the medic tent. A young girl with nut-brown hair and a man with reddish-hair were both inside.

"Oh dear, that looks like a nasty wound!" the man exclaimed as Boyd set Lucrezia down on one of the cots. "I'll have to fix this right away!" He took out a staff and held it near her wing. A soft glow emitted from the staff, and soon her wound was completely healed.

"Thank you very much!" Lucrezia exclaimed as she rubbed the spot on her wing. "It's as good as new!"

"I suppose you're not used to getting healed by beorc magic," said the red-haired man. "My name is Rhys, and I'm the company healer."

"I am, too!" shouted the girl. "My name is Mist! It's nice to meet you!"

"I'm Lucrezia." She smiled. "Your friend Rolf informed me that Prince Reyson is here."

"Oh, yes, he's a great help in battle!" Rhys exclaimed. "He uses his galdrar to refresh us during the fighting. It really helps the morale."

_I'm glad he's still safe, then,_ Lucrezia thought. "If possible, may I speak to your leader? Ike, I think his name is?"

"Oh, yeah, he's my brother!" Mist grinned. "I don't think he's busy right now. I'll take you to him!"

"Thank you, Mist!" Lucrezia stood up and followed the energetic cleric out of the tent.

_These beorc are all so hospitable... They're so different from that merchant Nathan and the Daeins... I wonder why they are like this?_

"Lucrezia!"

Lucrezia turned to see Reyson running toward her.

"Prince Reyson! You're all right!"

"Yes, for now, anyway. That one pegasus knight still believes that I spend too much time on the battlefield, though." Reyson smiled. "Rolf told me that Shinon had shot you down, and I was worried that your wing would be damaged!"

"It's fine. Those healers are really great!"

Reyson's face turned serious and he spoke in a lowered tone, "What happened with Naesala?"

"I... I acted rashly..." She explained about how she had been captured by the Daeins and then freed by Naesala.

Reyson frowned. "As far as I know, Naesala is still helping Daein."

"He told me he would wait for his next payment before leaving," Lucrezia replied. "I only hope that he doesn't change his mind. But I think I was able to convince him with our deal."

"Deal? What kind of deal?"

"I have to repay my debt, and you have to promise not to hurt him in retribution for betraying you," she replied. She didn't want to tell Reyson about the last part of the deal.

"I'll have to speak with him before I can make any promises about that," Reyson mumbled. "I'm just glad that you're safe, Lucrezia."

"Excuse me!" Mist ran up to them. "Miss Lucrezia, Ike is here if you want to talk to him."

"Oh yes!" Lucrezia laughed. "Excuse me, your highness. I wanted to express my gratitude to the leader of this group."

"He is a good man," Reyson replied. "He is very sympathetic to the cause of the laguz."

Lucrezia gave a polite curtsey and followed Mist to Ike's tent.


	14. Chapter 14: Battle in the Snow

_Exciting plot twists up ahead. And I teased Ike a little bit because he's so naive in the first game. I hated him in PoR. He's way more badass in RD. Also, I just realized that I went out of order of the game's chronology cuz Shinon shouldn't be there yet. Oh well. Just pretend that he came back early lol. So yeah, anyway, enjoy this chapter! :D_

Chapter 14 -- Battle in the Snow

Commander Ike's tent was a lot messier on the inside than Lucrezia would have guessed, but once she saw how young he was, she completely understood.

_He just got thrust into the position suddenly,_ she thought. _I don't think he would have willingly signed up for a job like this._

Ike noticed her and turned around from his work (polishing a sword of some sort). He smiled eagerly and held out his hand.

"Hi! I'm Ike! I hear you're one of the heron tribe!"

"Yes, I am," Lucrezia replied. _Duh,_ she thought, _like the wings didn't give it away_. "My name is Lucrezia. Prince Reyson has told me everything that you have done to save our forest. I must tell you that I am extremely grateful." She gave a polite curtsey.

"Oh, well, you're welcome!" Ike then went back to polishing his sword.

"Um..." Lucrezia sighed. _He's an idiot. That's the only possible explanation._ "I also want to thank you for saving Prince Reyson from Oliver. I was... really worried about him."

Ike turned to her again. "Well, he kind of just escaped on his own. We fought most of the soldiers off, but then he flew out the window before we could talk to him."

Lucrezia let out an involuntary giggle. _He would do that..._ "I hope that someday... you beorc and us laguz can be good friends. I have to say, I was a bit surprised at first to hear that an army of beorc would help an enslaved laguz."

"Well, I grew up in Gallia. Laguz don't frighten me at all," Ike replied.

"In Gallia? Really?" Lucrezia was surprised that Caineghis would have allowed that.

"Yeah. My father worked for him... It was a long time ago, though. I don't really remember it."

Lucrezia smiled. At least there was someone else who had grown up in a place he shouldn't have. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to... polishing your sword."

"Okay. It was nice talking to you, Lumeria."

"Lucrezia."

"Oh! Lucrezia, sorry." He sighed. "I'm not really good at being polite, can you tell?"

"Yes. But I'm not a noble so I'm quite used to it. I grew up in various beorc towns. Most of you don't have the greatest social skills to begin with."

"Commander, I think that was supposed to be an insult." A boy with long black hair, black robes, and red eyes walked in.

Lucrezia scanned the newcomer over. "I wasn't trying to be insulting. I'm merely stating my observations."

"You and Soren here will make great friends, then," Ike remarked. "Soren, this is Lucrezia. She's the heron that Rolf--"

"That Shinon shot down and then left. I'm quite aware." Soren also seemed to be scanning her over. "How do you speak the common tongue so fluently? Reyson's sister can't speak a single word of it."

"Like I was telling Ike earlier, I grew up in beorc towns. I was taught by a wandering musician named Robins."

"Master Robins? You know of him?" Soren seemed genuinely interested. "How is he? No one has heard from him in years."

"I haven't seen him in over ten years. I have no idea where he is or what he's up to," Lucrezia replied.

"Ah, I see... He was fairly famous throughout Begnion, if memory serves correctly." Soren turned to Ike. "We've gotten reports of Daein troops nearby."

"Already?" Ike swung his sword onto his back. "Let's get 'em!"

Lucrezia sighed. "I'll be staying here. I have no interest in fighting." Then she walked out of the tent. She was on her way to find Rolf when she heard the hawks frantically discussing something.

She had met Janaff and Ulki during her short stay in Phoenicis, but she had never really gotten much chance to talk with them. However, as she approached them she began to hear the name "Naesala" several times.

"That dirty crow is with the Daein soldiers!" Janaff whispered. "How could any laguz go so low?"

"He's out on the battlefield at this moment," Ulki replied. "It will be a difficult fight."

"Naesala is fighting?!" Lucrezia gasped. _Does that mean he's going to break his promise?_

"Oh, Lucrezia! Yes, he is out there with some of his soldiers." Ulki grimaced.

"You have to talk to him!" Lucrezia pleaded. "Maybe he'll listen if you guys convince him to leave!"

"I doubt it," Janaff muttered. "You know how easily he is attracted to money. Commander Ike doesn't have nearly enough to change that crow's mind."

_After his next payment,_ thought Lucrezia. _That's what he promised. I bet his next payment isn't until after the war is over, depending on who wins..._ She clenched her fists. _Damn you..._

They heard the other soldiers preparing to move out. Reyson came up to them, and it seemed he planned on going out to fight.

"Prince Reyson, that dirty crow king is fighting on Daein's side!" Janaff shouted as the White Prince approached.

"He... what?" Reyson glanced at Lucrezia. "I should have known..."

"Wait, Prince Reyson, are you going out to fight?" Lucrezia suddenly asked.

"Not really fight. More like rejuvenate the soliders with his galdrar," Ulki explained. "But don't worry, Lucrezia, we will guard him with our lives."

Lucrezia nodded, though she did not like the idea of Reyson among so many soldiers.

Ike's voice could be heard among the murmur of the camp as he shouted the order to move out.

"Good luck," was all Lucrezia could squeak out as her friends followed the soldiers to the battle. After the main force had moved out, she decided to wander around the camp and talk to the remaining group to keep her mind off of the battle. The first tent she wandered into was empty, however, so she decided to take a nap.

A half hour passed, and she still could not sleep. Memories of her unsuccessful fight against the Daein soldiers in the fort still haunted her, and she worried that Reyson would not be so lucky.

_I can't just sit around here!_ she finally decided. _I have to go to the battle! I just have to make sure that Prince Reyson is all right..._

She stretched her wings and soared low through the trees until she came to a mountain pass. The black crows stuck out in the white, snowy background, so she knew that this must be the battlefield. She snuck around until she spotted Reyson singing for a horseman; she thought his name was Oscar.

"P-prince Reyson! You're all right!" she gasped as she rushed up to him.

"Lucrezia? What are you doing? Go back to the camp where it's safe!" Reyson was unharmed, but he looked worn-out.

"I just... I had to make sure you were all right. I was getting a bad feeling..." Then she remembered Naesala. "What about Naesala? Is he still--"

"Naesala is over that hill, preparing to go against our forces," Reyson explained with a dark frown. "Ulki and Janaff are trying to get to him, but the Daein soldiers keep blocking their path with ballistae..."

Lucrezia scanned the hill that Reyson had pointed out. It was fairly low, and she could just barely make out Naesala's form through the snowflakes. He had not yet transformed, but he looked like he was about to any minute.

"Excuse me, my lord," she muttered as she spread her wings and flew toward that direction.

"Lucrezia! Lucrezia, no!"

_It's worth a try,_ Lucrezia thought, ignoring Reyson's warnings. _He won't attack me if he wants me to stay in Kilvas._ She saw Ulki and Janaff fighting off Daein soldiers at the base of the hill. Then she spotted a section of forest that spread up the hill, close to where Naesala was stationed. _I could sneak through the forest and get to him before he transforms!_ The ballistae were all focused on the hawks, so she had no problem getting through the woods unnoticed. Soon she was within about fifty yards of the crow king.

"Naesala!" she called. "Naesala, get over here if you want your end of the deal!"

Naesala perked his head in her direction. He jaw dropped when he realized who it was. He quickly whispered something to his second-in-command and flew over to her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded. "You just like to follow trouble around, don't you?"

Lucrezia glared at him. "Why the hell are you still fighting for Daein? You promised!"

"After my next payment, remember? That would be tomorrow," Naesala casually explained. "Honestly, you shouldn't put your life in danger to remind me of these things."

"But you have to quit now!" she protested. "Prince Reyson and Ulki and Janaff are out there!"

Naesala's face fell at the mention of Reyson. "What the hell is _he_ doing here? I can understand you being in a battle, but _Reyson_?"

"He's repaying the Crimean Army for rescuing him! That's why you have to stop!"

The crow thought for a moment. "I suppose if you promise me something else in return..."

"No!" Lucrezia clenched her fists. "No more stupid deals! Just stop fighting for the wrong side!"

"You're still coming to Kilvas after this--"

"Yes, I'm coming to damn Kilvas to live in that damn castle so you can be happy!" Lucrezia's eyes were almost fiery, despite their pale blue color. "Stop fighting! Please!"

Naesala silently looked her over. "I will. Just one thing. One small thing."

Lucrezia was hesitant. "What?"

Naesala grabbed her and pushed her face into his for a strong kiss. She struggled to get free, but he grasp was stronger. Finally, he let go and smirked.

"You..." Lucrezia was livid.

"It's been a while. I forgot how good you were," he remarked.

"You bastard... I hate you..."

"That's more like the Lulu I know!" Naesala laughed. "All right, let me go talk to your anxious prince and those pesky hawks. Will that make you happy?"

Lucrezia only glared at him in reply.

"Ah, not good enough? Then I'll be needing another kiss--"

"Yes, that's good enough!" she shouted. She was deeply beginning to regret that she had promised to go back to Kilvas with him. "Now go away before I break tradition and kill you!"

"None of that, Lulu. Besides, you need more practice in kissing. You're good, but you still have a long way to go."

"Why should I care about how good of a kisser I am?"

Naesala grinned. "Because you're in love with Reyson." He flew away toward Janaff and Ulki, leaving Lucrezia standing speechlessly in the snow.


	15. Chapter 15: Discovering One's Heart

_Because this fic doesn't have enough of my cheesy romantic stuff in it yet lol. By the way, I love Soren. I also love to tease him. :D Enjoy this next (though short) chapter!_

Chapter 15 -- Discovering One's Heart

The rest of the battle had gone by quickly after Naesala and the ravens left the battlefield. Lucrezia soon found herself wandering back to the camp alongside Rolf and Mist, who were happily chattering about what to have for dinner.

_I'm in love with Prince Reyson? But wait, we're just friends! Naesala was just saying that to piss me off, as usual..._

She munched on her fish half-heartedly as the others gathered around for dinner. Their conversations seemed like a low buzz in the background of her thoughts.

_But then why would Naesala say that if he's so desperate to have me? There's no way he's constantly all over me just to train me for being with Reyson... I mean, Prince Reyson... Prince Reyson has always been there for me, though... _

"Is anyone sitting here, Lucrezia?"

Reyson's voice caused her to jump.

"N-no! You can sit here, my lord," she squeaked.

"I'm sorry. Did I startle you?"

"N-no... I guess I was just daydreaming..." Lucrezia realized that her face was beginning to feel hot.

_Now it's just getting to me because Naesala said it. I'm not in love with Reyson! That would be completely improper! I mean... Prince Reyson..._

"Lucrezia, what did you say to make Naesala change his mind? He seemed to instantly change his mind once he had talked to Janaff and me." Reyson seemed worried about how she would reply.

"I... I don't remember, honestly..." She was still preoccupied with her present dilemma. "I reminded him of the deal we made... and then he changed his mind, just like that." She felt it would be safer not to tell Reyson about how he had kissed her in return for leaving before his last payment.

_But why don't I want to tell him that? He can't find out about it... That would make him think that I'm in love with Naesala, which I swear I will never be... But then if I'm not in love with Naesala, then maybe I do love--_

"Lucrezia? Are you all right? Your face looks a bit flushed."

"I'm not really sure... I think I better go take a nap. I'm pretty tired."

"Ah, yes. Today has been quite taxing." Reyson smiled. "Get some rest, Lucrezia."

"Th-thanks." She quickly got up and walked toward her tent. However, she really wasn't all that sleepy. She spotted Mist walking over toward the medic tent and decided to intercept the beorc girl.

"Hey, Mist! Can I talk to you for a second?"

Mist stopped and looked at her. "Yeah, of course! What is it?"

"Um, in my tent. It's a... private thing..." Lucrezia took a deep breath. _Wait, why am I telling this random beorc girl about this? I hardly know her at all!_

They went into Lucrezia's tent and sat down. Lucrezia was silent for a while until she decided that she may as well ask Mist an important question.

"So, um, how do you know when you like someone?" she asked quietly.

Mist cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Like, when you see some guy... how do you know when you're in love with him?"

Mist giggled. "How should I know? I've never been in love before! I'm much younger than I look!"

"Oh..." Lucrezia sighed. "Never mind, then."

"You're in love with someone, then? Aww! How cute!" Mist exclaimed.

"I'm not sure!" Lucrezia hastily replied. "That's why I asked you in the first place!"

Mist thought for a moment. "Well, I guess you could ask one of the older girls, like Titania or Princess Elincia."

_I don't know either of them that well..._ Lucrezia thought. _That would be awkward._

"Oh, I know the perfect person!" Mist jumped up and grabbed Lucrezia's hand. "Follow me!" She led her out of the tent and over to Ike's tent.

_Is she joking? Commander Ike is one of the dumbest beorc I have ever--_

However, the tent was empty, except for Soren sitting in the corner with a book. He could have been reading outside, but then he would have lost his pale complexion.

"Soren! Lucrezia has a question for you!" Mist called.

_What the hell is she thinking?!_ Lucrezia thought as the small mage sighed and stood up. _He's probably never even talked to a girl before, let alone fallen in love with one!_

"Soren is really smart," Mist explained. "He'll know the answer!"

"Y-yeah... I'm sure..."

Soren looked the heron over. "Well, what is it?"

"Um..." Lucrezia took a deep breath. "You know, now that I think about it, I'll just go ask someone else!"

The mage seemed offended. "You think I don't know the answer to something? I'm quite researched."

"I'm pretty confident that you will have no idea what the answer is to my question," she replied.

Mist spoke up. "She wants to know how a person knows when she's in love with someone else."

Soren cocked an eye in irritation. "_That's_ your question?"

"I told you he wouldn't know!" Lucrezia turned to leave, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Well, I have no firsthand experience in this type of matter, but I do believe that a person is in love when he or she experiences rapid increases in heartbeat when the person of affection is nearby. Also, the person in love will constantly think about that person to the point of obsession, even experiencing romantic dreams about that person. The person loses all sort of sense and instead reacts on feeling instead of logic."

Lucrezia slowly turned back to Soren in shock.

"Personally, I believe that the whole affair is ridiculous. It is something that idiots like Ike would go after," Soren muttered.

"Hey, don't call Big Brother an idiot!" Mist yelled.

"He is, Mist. Just accept it." With that, the mage sat down and picked up his book. "Does that answer satisfy you, Miss Heron?"

"Uh, sure. Th-thanks for your... expertise." Lucrezia was eager to leave now.

"I have learned all this by observation. It really is ridiculous. I hope the misfortune never befalls you, though you do seem like the type to go through such nonsensical feelings."

"Thanks." Lucrezia frowned. _He just insulted me! He insulted me while I was standing right here! What is his problem?_ She then turned and left the tent. Mist happily followed.

"Soren's really smart, isn't he?" she exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm sure he thinks so," Lucrezia muttered.

"So are you in love with someone?"

Lucrezia stopped and thought for a moment. _I think Naesala's been getting to me. There's no way I'd ever be allowed to fall in love with Rey-- Prince Reyson... Dammit, I'm not even using his title anymore! It must be... No, it can't..._ Soren's "observations" echoed in her mind.

_"Rapid heartbeat... thinking of the person to the point of obsession... reacting on feelings..."_

"Well?" Mist asked.

Reyson suddenly walked by. He smiled at the two of them. "Are you all rested up, Lucrezia?"

"Y-yes!" she replied. "I am!"

"That's good. I'll talk to you later, I suppose." Then he continued on his way.

Lucrezia felt her heartbeat. Much faster than normal.

"You know, Mist, I think I just might be."


	16. Chapter 16: Friends and Advice

_This chapter is mostly to develop character relationships that I will use in later chapters... So I guess it's more like a filler chapter... I think the tag game is pretty cute, though._

* * *

Chapter 16 -- Friends and Advice

For the next few days, every time Lucrezia saw Reyson she felt her heartbeat to make sure that it was faster. She was unsure how to deal with these new feelings, for she had never had feelings of love before.

_Ugh, what am I supposed to do about this?_ she thought as she went to bed one night. _Should I tell him how I feel or wait for something magical to happen or what?_

The next morning she was still having trouble deciding the next step to take. However, Mist came up to her before she could go talk to Reyson.

"Miss Lucrezia! Rolf and I are organizing a game of tag! You want to play?" she asked eagerly.

"Tag? Isn't that the beorc game that involves a lot of running?"

"Yeah! It's a lot of fun!" Mist exclaimed.

"I suppose..." Lucrezia muttered. _Running really isn't my strongpoint, but at least it'll help me get my mind off of Reyson._

Mist led her to a small clearing where Rolf, a red-haired mage, and a green-haired boy were gathered. A large tiger laguz was also watching.

"Yay! Miss Lucrezia is gonna play!" Rolf exclaimed. "We have enough people now!"

"Hey, let's set up some rules, first!" the green-haired boy interjected. "Tormod shouldn't be allowed to use magic, and Muarim and Lucrezia shouldn't be allowed to transform!"

"You just want to win cause you think you're so fast, Sothe!" the red-haired mage shouted.

Sothe glared at him. "You're a dirty cheater, Tormod! Last time we played you had Muarim transform and protect you!"

Muarim, the tiger, sighed. "Little One, just listen to the beorc boy. I promise not to transform."

Mist giggled. "Okay, everyone, let's decide who's going to be it! Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

Lucrezia smirked. "All right, I guess I'm it. I won't transform."

"Base is the oak tree!" Rolf shouted. "Let's go!"

The others quickly scattered away from Lucrezia. She scanned the area over to look for the most unsuspecting target. Soon she spotted the red-haired mage. _He's a magic user, by the looks of it. He should be easy._ She dashed over to him, but he proved to be much faster than she thought. _I'm totally at a disadvantage with my weak legs. Wait..._ She grinned and kicked up her wings, flying over to Tormod and tackling him to the ground.

"You're it!" she exclaimed.

"Hey! No fair! You can't fly!" he protested.

"Uh-uh. You just said I can't transform. You didn't say anything about flying." She fluttered over to base.

"Fine!" Tormod ran after Sothe, but he couldn't catch him. He finally ended up tagging Mist.

The game went on like this for about an hour. Sothe was rarely ever it unless Muarim or Lucrezia tagged him. Finally, Lucrezia collapsed to the ground in a huff.

"Okay, I think I'm calling it quits. I'm beat!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty hungry," Sothe muttered.

"Good game, everyone!" Rolf called. "Let's go get something to eat!"

The beorc children ran off to the campfire. Muarim, however, went up to Lucrezia and patted her shoulder.

"You interact with the beorc well, I've noticed," he remarked.

"Yeah. I spent a few years in beorc lands." She grinned. "But these beorc are so friendly to laguz! I've never felt so at home with beorc before."

Muarim nodded. "I wish all beorc were like this."

"So do I..." Lucrezia thought back to the Tanas Estate. "The slavery in Begnion... have you seen it before?"

Muarim looked at her gravely. "I used to be a slave."

Lucrezia gasped. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."

"No, it is all right. It was a long time ago." He sighed. "It was horrible, though. But these beorc here... They are so different. They do not seem to care about the differences between us. I am glad that the younger ones are learning from the examples of Ike and Titania."

Lucrezia nodded. "So true..." Then she grinned. "Let's go get something to eat!"

For the first time since she was in Serenes, Lucrezia was beginning to feel as though she were part of a family. Mist and Rolf treated her like an older sister, and the two hawks and Ranulf teased her in a friendly way. Soren still didn't want to speak with her, but she had learned to just ignore the silly mage.

Lucrezia had been with Ike's company for three weeks now, and she still didn't know what to do about her feelings for Reyson. Every time the army went to battle, Reyson would accompany them. Lucrezia would stay back in camp with the others who were either not fit to fight or did not feel they would be useful in the battle. Usually one or more of the younger beorc were in this group, but one time Ulki stayed back because he had a minor cold that he didn't want to get worse. It was during this time that Lucrezia decided to ask someone else for advice.

"Um, Ulki?" she asked as they were sitting around the campfire that afternoon.

"Yes, Lucrezia?"

"Um... well... I've got a little issue, and I was wondering... well, you're much older than I am, and..."

Ulki smiled. "What is it, Lucrezia? You seem a bit flustered."

The heron sighed. "It's just... have you ever had feelings for a girl before?"

Ulki thought back. "Once or twice, but never strong enough to ask for the girl's hand in marriage. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I... I think I'm developing feelings for someone, and I'm not sure what to do..." She looked down and blushed in embarrassment.

Ulki laughed. "Why are you asking me about this? I thought girls usually asked other girls about this stuff."

"The only girls I'm close with here are Mist and... well, that's about it. But she's so young. She doesn't know anything about this kind of stuff. And, well, you're... you're kinda like an older brother to me or something."

"Hah, Janaff will be upset by that. He always wants to be everyone's uncle!" Ulki thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose you could tell the person you have feelings for," he suggested. "If you're already friends then it shouldn't be as hard."

"But that's the thing!" she exclaimed. "We've always been friends, and I don't know if we can be anything more than that."

Ulki looked at her suspiciously. "Who is it?"

"Ah... n-no one... I'm not telling!" she stammered.

He smiled. "I think I know... but I won't ask. You're already pretty flustered."

"Thanks..." She sighed. "I just don't know what to do. I've never felt like this before."

"That's understandable. Anyone in your situation would be confused." Then he patted her on the back. "You're smart, though, Lucrezia. Whatever choice you make will probably be a good one."

"You think so?" she asked in a surprised tone.

"From what Prince Reyson has said of your past adventures in Kilvas and Begnion, I think you've made much harder decisions than this one."

Lucrezia realized that she had involuntarily blushed at the mention of Prince Reyson. She glanced up to see if Ulki had noticed, but he was listening to something intently.

"I think the battle is almost over. I'm beginning to hear shouts of victory from our side," he told her.

"Really? What a relief... It's so hard just sitting here and waiting for them to return..."

Ulki nodded. "Yes, I can see how it would be stressful. This is the first time I've stayed back."

Lucrezia sighed and thought about what Ulki had said earlier about her feelings. _I guess I should tell him... Sitting and waiting won't help anything. I do enough of that already with these battles. But what if he gets angry? After all, I'm not exactly the perfect example of a demure, graceful heron..._

"You're worried again, Lucrezia." Ulki was watching her with interest now.

"H-how do you know?"

"You're heart's beating so loudly I can hear it with no problem," he explained with a grin.

"Oh..." She frowned. _I really should tell him. Ulki knows. Janaff probably knows or will know soon cause he's so observant. Does that mean the others know, too? Or maybe even... Reyson knows?_ She shook her head. _No, stop worrying. Ulki can tell that I'm anxious. Just stop getting so worked up!_

"Lucrezia, they'll be coming back, soon. Are you going to tell him tonight, or will you lose sleep over it?"

Lucrezia groaned. "I guess... I'll tell him..." She turned to Ulki. "Do I just say, 'I love you!' or do I lead up to it, or what?"

However, Ulki merely smiled. "You'll have to decide with method works best for you. If it's not genuine then how would he react?"

"You're right..." Lucrezia stood up. "Well, thanks for the advice, Ulki."

"You're quite welcome. Anything to help a fellow member of the bird tribe!"

Just then, Ike and the others returned, excited about this latest victory. Reyson even seemed a bit more energetic than usual.

_I'll tell him tonight,_ she thought. _Right after dinner. I'll tell him._ She felt her heartbeat and glanced at Ulki, who winked at her.


	17. Chapter 17: The Dream

_By the way, in the opening arguement I would vote for Tibarn. Haha.  
Um... so... I think Reyson gets a little OOC in this chapter but oh well. I like it! Not what you would have expected to happen. Don't be mad!  
Anyway, I'm posting this now before I go out of town and forget about it for a week... Tell me what you think about this one, though. I think I'm taking a few risks._

* * *

Chapter 17 -- The Dream

That night after dinner, Lucrezia tried to find a way to talk to Reyson alone. However, he was currently talking with Janaff, Ranulf, Ulki, Lethe, and Mordecai.

"Ah, Lucrezia! Join the party!" Janaff exclaimed. "We were talking about who would win in a fight: Caineghis or Tibarn?"

Lucrezia laughed. "Wow, that's a hard one! But I think... hm... they both have their advantages and disadvantages."

"Well, the birds are all rooting for Tibarn, and us beast tribe members are all rooting for Caineghis, of course!" Ranulf explained. "Obviously Caineghis would win. He has all of the brute force, and his defense is nearly impenetrable!"

Janaff shook his head. "Tibarn's got speed! Plus, he can fly! He could easily outmaneuver Caineghis with no problem!"

"No way!" Lethe burst in. "Caineghis is also quite fast! Tibarn wouldn't even leave a scratch on him!"

"Yeah, but could Caineghis jump high enough to reach Tibarn when he flies up for the final lunge?" Ulki asked. "I think not!"

Reyson turned to her and smiled. "Who do you think would win, Lucrezia? I'm rooting for Tibarn, mostly because I've never seen Caineghis fight, and I don't know much about combat."

Lucrezia blushed. _If I agreed with him, would that serve to tip Ulki and Janaff off that I like him? But I really do think Tibarn would win..._ "Well, I actually think Tibarn would win. He's got flying to his advantage."

"All right, Lucrezia!" Janaff shouted.

"You're crazy!" Ranulf exclaimed. "Caineghis is so much stronger!"

The conversation lasted for a while until someone posed the question of how Naesala would fare in such a battle.

"Obviously he would lose," Janaff and Ranulf both said in unison.

"Well, I don't know," Lucrezia mumbled. "If he used dishonest methods, like he probably would, then he might win."

"We'd make sure he couldn't cheat," Ulki assured her. "Then he couldn't possibly win!"

"So true!" she agreed. _But he's such a backstabbing little... he would find a way to cheat..._

Lucrezia soon felt her eyelids drooping. She couldn't fight off sleep much longer, but she really wanted to spend more time talking with her new laguz friends. As much as she had gotten used to beorc, she still missed being able to talk with her own kind again. Plus, she still needed to talk to Reyson...

However, before long she was resting her head against a tree trunk, unable to keep her eyes open.

"Lucrezia? Do you want to go to bed?"

Lucrezia opened her bleary eyes to see Reyson leaning over her. He seemed genuinely concerned for her health.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just been a long day..." As she said this she slowly fell over to the ground, sound asleep.

As she slept she had a strange, almost surreal dream. She vaguely remembered Reyson picking her up and carrying her to her tent, but when she looked up again she saw Naesala standing over her cot, smirking. He whispered something unintelligible, though Lucrezia thought he said, "I love you." Then he leaned over and kissed her.

_Why is he suddenly so serious?_ she thought. _He's usually playing around. But he said he loves me?_

"Naesala," she whispered. She wanted to ask if he was really serious.

However, she heard a gasp, and suddenly the tent was empty. Lucrezia blinked and looked around the tent, but Naesala was nowhere to be found.

"Just a dream," she muttered. Then she fell back to sleep.

The next morning Lucrezia woke up later than usual. The sun was already high in the sky, and most of the beorc had already started on their breakfast. Lucrezia noticed Reyson munching on some fish, sitting next to Ulki and chattering lowly. She decided to sit with them, but when she approached them she noticed Reyson eyeing her strangely. Ulki, however, seemed normal.

"Good morning, sirs," Lucrezia mumbled politely. "Sorry I slept in. I suppose I stayed up a bit late last night."

"Yes, we all did," Ulki laughed. "I just woke up a short time ago. But Prince Reyson has been up for some time."

"Really?" Lucrezia glanced at the white prince, who was taking care not to look at her. "Prince Reyson, is everything all right?"

"Fine," Reyson muttered. "The question is, are _you_ all right, Lucrezia?"

"What do you mean? I'm just a little tired, but I think I'm mostly caught up on sleep by now--"

"Lucrezia!" Reyson stood up suddenly. "I need to talk to you privately. Ulki, will you excuse us?"

"Of course. I promise to go far enough away that I will not accidently hear," Ulki said with a grin. Then he fluttered over to talk to Ranulf and Lethe.

Reyson then turned back to Lucrezia. "Lucrezia, I... I'm worried about you."

Lucrezia cocked her head in confusion. "Prince Reyson, what are you talking about? I'm not sick!"

"It's not your health I'm worried about!" Reyson sighed. "It's... that crow..."

"Naesala? What the hell did he do this time?" Suddenly, Lucrezia gasped. "I'm sorry, my lord, I didn't mean to curse--"

"That's what I'm worried about!" Reyson grabbed her shoulder. "You're acting more and more like a raven every time I see you! And now you've... Lucrezia, can you promise me something?"

"I-- yes, what is it?"

Reyson looked straight into her face. "Look me in the eye and promise me that you haven't been... messing around with that dastardly crow."

Lucrezia stared at him in shock. "Why would I do anything like that? You know me better than that, my lord! You know how much I hate Naesala for everything he's done! Even if he did rescue me a few times, he's stuck me in a deal where I have to go back to Kilvas, and I hate Kilvas with every inch of my being!"

"You weren't forced into it, Lucrezia! You could have backed down. You just want to go to Kilvas, don't you?"

"If I hadn't agreed to the deal, then he would still be on Daein's side, and I would probably be King Ashnard's newest 'pet' right now!"

Reyson, however, was not convinced. "You kissed him, didn't you?"

Lucrezia's eyes widened. "I..."

"You've been messing around with him! That's why he was so willing to leave Daein and rescue you!"

"It's not... like that..." Lucrezia could feel tears coming. "That's what he wanted, but I would _never_ do that! Why don't you believe me?"

"Why did you whisper his name last night?" Reyson asked, this time in a softer but sterner tone. "You were dreaming about him, weren't you?"

Lucrezia stared at him. "How do you know what I was dreaming about, and what I was whispering?"

"You admit that you did it?"

"Answer my question!" Then she hastily added, "My lord."

Reyson glared at her for her impertinence, but then ignored it and continued. "I took you back to your tent after you fell asleep, and you started whispering about Naesala."

Lucrezia took a deep breath. "I did dream about Naesala, but in the dream he wasn't acting like his usual self. He was acting... softer, more sensitive..."

"And what did he do? Now it is your turn to answer."

"He...kissed me." She no longer felt that it was necessary to hide anything. "My lord, he's kissed me before, but I wasn't willing! He forced me! Honestly, I have no desire to ever touch that filthy face of his ever agai--"

"That's enough!" Reyson was furious. "Just... just go somewhere else. Go to Kilvas and wait for that dastard to return for you."

"Prince Reyson? Why are you acting like this?"

"I should never have let you leave Phoenicis back then... being around the beorc for ten years was a bad enough influence on you, but now you're sleeping around with dirty crows and striking deals with them..." Reyson shook his head. "Just go, Lucrezia. Don't come back."

Lucrezia finally let the tears run. "I haven't been sleeping around... I'm a heron! A heron through and through! Reyson, please don't send me away, please don't..."

"I want to believe you, Lucrezia, but I just... can't..." Reyson's eyes were suddenly very pained. "You've been around him so much. Maybe it's better that way. You are the only one who can seem to control him."

"I don't love Naesala. I love y--" She stopped and clapped her hands over her mouth. Inside she felt like something was being ripped apart, and the only way for it to stop would be for him to believe her.

"Go to Kilvas, Lucrezia. Just go."

Lucrezia felt her knees give out, and she collapsed. _Maybe I should go now, before I get attached to him. I have to go to Kilvas anyway... maybe I just have to accept that I could never be with... him..._

When she opened her eyes she realized that he was gone.


	18. Chapter 18: Kilvas

_So last chapter didn't go over very well... I'm hoping this one explains some things. At least stick with it until Chapter 20 because it's going to be a funny chapter._

* * *

Chapter 18 -- Kilvas

Lucrezia was about fifty yards from Kilvas when Naesala soared up to greet her.

"Why, Lulu! You actually came! I thought for sure you were going to attempt running away from your end of the deal!"

Lucrezia only nodded and looked down. _I can't believe I actually did this... Why didn't I try to make things up with Reyson?_ However, when she pictured his horrified face she realized that she had made the right decision. _He needs to cool down... or maybe I need to look into my heart and figure out which one I truly love..._ She soon realized that Naesala hadn't made any attempts to kiss her. Instead, he was looking over over quietly.

Then he sighed. "Things didn't go well with Reyson, huh?"

"How did you--"

"You look very sad..." He took her hand and led her toward the castle. "We can't have you looking so sad if you're going to stay here!"

"Naesala, what _are_ your feelings for me?" Lucrezia wrestled her hand away from his. "You're so desperate to have me, yet you seem perfectly find about my feelings for... for Reyson..."

Naesala thought for a moment. "Well... you're very attractive; that's for sure. But at the same time, Reyson _is_ my friend..."

Lucrezia frowned. "So you don't even know?!"

"Let me finish, my dear Lulu. Let's just say that Reyson and I are rivals for your heart, though I'm certain he doesn't realize it."

"So you... you do love me? And Reyson...?"

Naesala merely smirked and pulled her down to the castle. Then he led her into his study, which was really just a hiding place from Nealuchi.

"I have some music in here, by the way," he told her. "Why don't you play something to get your mind off of things?"

Lucrezia shook her head. _Music would only _remind_ me of him..._ she thought.

The crow sat down at his desk. "Well, we can talk about it. How did it go?"

Lucrezia glared at him. "You want to know why everything went wrong? Well, I hope you're happy cause it's all _your_ fault!" Naesala's eyes widened in surprise. "I had a dream about you, and I was talking in my sleep, and Reyson thought it was because you and I have been fooling around!" she yelled.

"Well, we have, in a way," he calmly interrupted.

"No, we haven't! Maybe in your mind we did, but all I did was try to prevent you from kissing me! Now Reyson doesn't want to see me again, and it's all your damn fault!" She stood there panting after her long shout.

Naesala then smiled. "There, don't you feel better now?"

"NO! I hate you more than ever!" With that, she stormed out of the room and wandered over to her old room to cry. _I hate this place... I hate this place so much! Everything about it has just made my life worse and worse... All this crap with Daein and debts and now Reyson and--_

A soft knock at the door caused her to jump.

"Y-yes?" she squeaked.

"It's Nealuchi, dear. May I come in?"

She quickly wiped away her tears. "Yes."

The old crow entered and closed the door behind him. "Miss Lucrezia, I would like to apologize for Nestling. I know he hasn't really been considerate of your feelings in this matter."

Lucrezia smiled. "Thank you, Nealuchi, but I would rather hear it from that stupid raven himself."

Nealuchi chuckled. "I'm sure, I'm sure. But, you see..." He sighed. "Nestling does have his reasons for making you come here. See, he's going through a lot right now, and he's incredibly lonely..."

Lucrezia snorted. "With all the ravens around here? How can he be _lonely_?" she asked in disbelief.

"He wants a woman's company, my dear, and you're one of the few laguz who can tolerate him."

"It's getting very hard to do that at the moment," she muttered.

Nealuchi smiled and whispered, "He misses Lady Leanne."

"Princess Leanne?! But how--"

"Dear, I shouldn't have told you this, but... after the Serenes Massacre, he was quite troubled by the loss of Princess Leanne."

Lucrezia frowned. "Princess Leanne is alive. Doesn't he know that?"

Nealuchi's eyes widened. "Of course he knows, dear. But he can't see her without going to Phoenicis, and King Tibarn is not exactly willing to welcome him there yet. How is she doing, by the way? Have you seen her?"

"She's fine," she replied. "I saw her when I went to the forest."

"That truly is wonderful." The old crow smiled. "I'm sure it lightened your heart to see a fellow heron alive."

"It did..." Lucrezia sighed. "I just wish I could go to Phoenicis instead of staying here..."

"I know, dear. Perhaps if Princess Leanne would come here, though I doubt King Tibarn would allow such a thing."

This gave Lucrezia an idea. "I could write to Princess Leanne and tell her where I am, and then we could arrange a visit of some sort."

"That may work, Miss Lucrezia! I have a feeling that Nestling would forget all about you if-- Oh dear, I didn't mean that in a bad way."

"No, I'd prefer that he forgot about me so I could get out of here." Then something struck her as unusual. "Does Naesala have feelings for Princess Leanne?"

"He hasn't specifically said so, but I think he does. Don't tell him I told you that, though," he added with a chuckle.

This cheered Lucrezia up significantly, although she was fearful for Leanne. _She is the most innocent girl... Naesala will ruin her for sure..._

The two of them then composed a letter to send to Leanne, and then they went off to find Naesala and tell him of their plan. However, when they found him, he was reading a letter.

"Crap, I was looking forward to being at home for a while," he muttered as they walked in. He glanced up at them and flashed the letter. "Summons from Phoenicis," he explained. "Apparently it's urgent, but Tibarn wouldn't say why."

"Well, this is perfect!" Nealuchi exclaimed. "We were just going to tell you that--"

"Nealuchi! Stop babbling and get some semblance of luggage ready. I don't know how long we'll be there." Naesala groaned. "I hope he doesn't want money or something like that..."

Lucrezia rolled her eyes. _It's all about the money with him..._

"Ah, Lulu?"

"What?"

"Would you like to come along?"

She sighed. "You're worried that I'll try to run away if you leave me alone."

"Precisely." Naesala smirked. "Won't Tibarn get a shock from seeing you with me!"

"Whatever."

Naesala went up to her and tried to kiss her, but she slapped his face and walked away.

"Ah, the old fiesty Lulu is back! I prefer you fiesty, you know."

"I hate you," she called back. She was already planning a way to run away in Phoenicis so she could stay there with Leanne, safe from any pervert crows or angry herons. However, one concern still hung in her mind.

_Does Naesala love me or Princess Leanne? He can't have us both! And I don't like him at all, but I'd prefer that Princess Leanne not become ruined by that perverted raven..._ She sighed. _There's something really strange about how he's acting..._


	19. Chapter 19: The Rescue Mission

_Wow this turned out to be long! Anyway, the whole scene where Naesala rescues Leanne made me happy, so of _course_ I'm going to include it! Yay rescue missions!_

* * *

Chapter 19 -- The Rescue Mission

The flight to Phoenicis was nice and quick, much to Lucrezia's delight.

_The less time I have to spend with that damn crow, the better_, she thought.

When they arrived Tibarn instantly met them and took them to his private study. He wanted the meeting to be as secret as possible.

"Naesala," began Tibarn, "I've called you here because I think you are the only one who can successfully pull off this mission. But I must have your sincere promise that you will not betray us again. Do you swear it?"

Naesala sighed. "I'll need a fair amount of gold to keep me from switching sides again. They paid me quite well, those Daeins..."

"Dammit, Naesala!" Tibarn shouted. "Is money really more important to you than helping out your own kind?"

The raven king grinned. "How much?"

Lucrezia shook her head. _That bastard..._

Tibarn thought desperately. "100,000 gold."

"They paid me 250,000. I guess I'll be going back..."

"500,000! Will you take that, you greedy bastard?"

Naesala thought for a moment. "650,000."

"Fine! 650,000 gold!" Tibarn angrily wrote the payment amount on a slip of parchment. "Now will you swear not to betray us?"

"I swear."

Lucrezia could tell that Tibarn still had his doubts about the crow's honesty, but he had no choice.

The great hawk sighed. "A few days ago, I came into this very room to find one of my men dead and the princess missing. I think Daein kidnapped her for using that damn medallion--"

"Wait a minute, what princess?" Naesala asked. "Do you have a daughter that I don't know about?"

"Princess _Leanne_, you fool!"

Naesala's jaw dropped, while Lucrezia and Nealuchi gasped.

_No... not Leanne!_ Lucrezia thought. _Oh, I can only imagine what they'll do to her..._

However, Naesala was still mostly speechless. Finally, he squeaked, "You let her get kidnapped?"

"I didn't _let_ her get kidnapped, you fool!" Tibarn slammed his fist on the table. "They slipped in here somehow and killed one of my men!"

"That's just terrible," Nealuchi muttered. "Why would they do such a thing?"

Tibarn lowered his voice to a whisper. "They want to release the dark god."

"The dark god?!" Lucrezia exclaimed. "Why would they do that?"

Tibarn shook his head gravely. "Madness, I suppose. That's why we need to get Princess Leanne back before they try to release a terrible evil over this land!"

"Ah, you want me to use my former ties with Daein to recover her?" Naesala grinned. "That might not be so easy..."

"Well, it's all we have to rely on now. Please, Naesala..."

The raven king sighed. "Fine, fine. Do you have any idea where they've taken her?"

Tibarn shook his head. "Possibly Crimea, but I have no idea where. It's up to you, now."

"Crimea, eh?" Naesala thought for a moment, pacing back and forth. Finally, he turned to Lucrezia. "Lulu, you've been to Crimea before, right?"

Lucrezia nodded. "It was a while ago, though."

"You remember ever seeing a large tower a couple miles in from the border between Crimea and Daein?" the crow asked.

"Possibly."

Naesala turned to the great hawk. "Just one more thing I want, Tibarn."

Tibarn glared. "What?"

"If I do this, then we're even. This will settle the whole affair with Tanas. How about it?"

Tibarn closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "I suppose... But you'll have to talk to Reyson about that, too."

"Excellent!" Naesala grinned. "I'll be expecting the money upon my return. Farewell."

Before long Lucrezia once again found herself flying toward the mainland. No one had said a word during the flight; Lucrezia figured that the two crows were probably coming up with some sort of plan for rescuing Leanne. It had been ten years since Lucrezia's last visit to Crimea, so she could not remember the layout of the land very well.

_That was the last time I saw Master Robins_, she thought as they were soaring over the mountains of Gallia. _I wonder if he is still alive after all these years..._

"Lulu?"

Lucrezia snapped out of her flashback as Naesala called to her. "Now what?"

"I was just thinking... Shouldn't you have stayed in Phoenicis where it's safe?"

She realized that indeed she was now in danger, but there was nothing she could do about it now. "I don't trust you," she told him flatly.

"Oh, come now, Lulu!" Naesala grinned. "Tibarn paid me lots! I couldn't turn from that unless Daein decided to offer me more!"

"You know why..." --it hurt to think of him now-- "Reyson hates you? Because you picked money over your own kind!"

Naesala rolled his eyes. "And you guys will never let me forget that, will you? Besides, this time I _am_ helping my own kind. So there."

"You didn't agree to it until you were paid much more than you deserve," Lucrezia muttered.

Naesala sighed. "Lulu, Lulu... you know how it is. Might as well get some money out of the deal."

Lucrezia was about to reply when she gasped.

"What is it, Miss Lucrezia?" Nealuchi asked from behind her. "Is everything all right?"

_I was the same way back in Begnion with those traders... I can't believe I..._ Lucrezia thought back to when she had been traveling in Begnion several months ago. _Every time I could I would try to get money out of a deal so I could pay Naesala back..._

Naesala flew next to her. "Sound familiar?"

"Damn you..." Lucrezia turned to him and glared. "If I hadn't stayed in Kilvas then I wouldn't be like this, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Like a raven."

Naesala grinned. "What's wrong with that? Reyson isn't exactly your typical heron, either."

Lucrezia's glare turned to a look of confusion. "What are you talking about? He's the prince! He's much more principled than you!"

"Oh, come now! How many herons would leave their forest to go help in a war?" He laughed. "How many herons would actually escape from their captors, like Reyson did in Tanas?"

"Uh... that's true, I guess," she muttered. "Herons are supposed to be docile and delicate, and Reyson has such a short temper..." Though this brought back some unpleasant memories of their last meeting.

"Now, Lulu, I didn't say that to make you upset over your little fight with Reyson." Naesala reached over and patted her shoulder.

"I'm not upset!" she protested as she shook him off.

They landed in a forest on the southern border of Crimea to rest. The three of them were silent through dinner, and they continued to stay silent until they went to sleep. Nealuchi had gone out to collect some firewood, mostly to get away from the awkward silence that now ensued.

Lucrezia rolled out a blanket and glanced over at Naesala. He was lying on his back and looked as though he was thinking intently about something.

"H-hey, Naesala?" she whispered.

"Nn?" he grunted.

"Um... about... earlier..."

"Oh." He rolled over on his side so he could face her. "I should apologize. You don't seem to be dealing with this whole Reyson thing very well."

Lucrezia frowned. "Why do you think that is? It's not like I've ever been in a situation like this before. It wasn't my fault, either."

"Now, now. Don't go blaming me, Lulu!" Naesala smirked. "Honestly, if you still love him then why did you leave in the first place?"

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to stay..." She fought back the sudden urge of tears. "You didn't see how upset he was! You think I was going to stay when he said he didn't ever want to see me again?"

"He said that?" Naesala looked like he was going to laugh. "Goodness, such the dramatic one..."

"He's not-- oh..." Lucrezia sighed. "Maybe he did overreact a bit... But he's worried about the heron clan! He has every right to be worried that one of us will get into trouble!"

Naesala rolled his eyes. "He hasn't changed at all... Always the stuffy one..."

"He's not being stuffy!" she shouted. "At least he's not totally degraded like you!"

"Oh really?" He gave her an irritated smirk. "And so why, exactly, did he make you leave his presence, hm?"

"He... thought you and I had been messing around..."

"And did you tell him that we weren't?"

"Yes! Several times!"

"And did he believe you?"

Lucrezia felt tears coming. "No..."

Naesala huffed. "I told you. He's stuffy. I'm sure he'll cool down after a few months. Maybe he'll stop being mad at you before he stops being mad at me!"

Lucrezia sniffed. "Shut up."

Naesala looked up, suddenly alert. "Are you crying?"

"Shut up!" She rolled over and cried softly into her blanket. Then she felt him grab her shoulder and pull her up to his chest.

"Lulu, Lulu... What am I going to do about you?" he murmured softly as he hugged her.

She sniffed again. As much as she hated him, she felt much better just being hugged by him. "S-sorry..." she whispered. "Maybe you're right. Maybe he just overreacted, but... how am I suppose to face him again now?"

"Act like I do."

"No. That's the worst possible--"

"Lulu, just listen." Naesala hugged her tight. "Reyson's pissed at me for the whole Tanas thing. Even after I apologized, it's easy to tell. But here I'm going out and saving his sister--"

"For money," she muttered.

"--because he is my best friend and I would do anything to repay the debt I owe," he continued.

"Because you want to flirt with Princess Leanne," she corrected.

Naesala sighed. "What I'm _trying_ to say is that if you help him out then he's bound to stop being mad at you. But running away won't solve anything."

Lucrezia was silent for a while. _I don't know what to do... Of course I still love him, but... What if he doesn't want to see me again?_

"Lulu?"

She sighed. "So you're saying I should go back and talk to Reyson because he's cooled down by now?"

"Most likely. He doesn't completely hate _you_." Naesala frowned. "Honestly, he sure can hold a grudge."

Lucrezia could almost detect a hint of regret in his tone, but she was sure she had imagined it. "And what if he's still mad at me?"

Naesala grinned. "There's always me!"

"Absolutely not. Besides, what about Princess Leanne?"

"Where are you getting this idea that I like Princess Leanne?" he asked, though his eyes betrayed his act.

"It's obvious," she replied. She remembered to keep her promise to Nealuchi.

"Keep trying." He started to stroke her hair, but she swatted his hand away.

"_You_ keep trying. Actually, don't. I don't like you at all."

"'Don't like'? So what you mean is you don't _hate_ me anymore?"

"I didn't say that!"

"But you've toned it down to dislike," he commented with a smile. "That's always reassuring."

Lucrezia rolled her eyes. "C-can I be alone for a while?" she finally asked. "I'm tired..."

"No. You're still somewhat of a mess," he told her as he brushed a reluctant tear away from her face. "You're going to sit here in my arms until you feel better, and then when this mission is over, you're going to Reyson and fixing this stupid little feud."

She was too tired by this point to fight back. "Fine... But it's still all your fault in the first place."

He ignored her last comment. "And while you do that I'm going to come up with a plan to rescue Leanne." He looked up at the sky and started thinking again.

_I don't know if he loves me or what_, she thought, _but either way... I guess I'm finding it hard to hate him anymore._


	20. Chapter 20: Naesala's Plan

_I'm so happy about how this chapter turned out! I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

Chapter 20 -- Naesala's Plan

Lucrezia woke up the next morning feeling much more refreshed, and, for once, in a good mood. _Maybe I just needed a good cry after all,_ she thought as she joined the ravens for breakfast.

"Good morning, Miss Lucrezia!" Nealuchi exclaimed. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, I guess... I must have slept hard because I don't remember much..." She sat down next to the old crow, across from Naesala.

Naesala looked up at her and grinned. "You fell asleep in my arms, darling. Don't you remember?"

Lucrezia gulped. "I did?" _What did he do after that? Oh no..._

"I tucked you in after you fell asleep," Naesala explained, as if he could read her mind. "I promise I didn't violate you in any way. Nealuchi can testify to it; he was there."

"Nestling was actually very well behaved last night after your argument," Nealuchi remarked with a chuckle. "I think you finally set him straight!"

"Don't count on it," the raven king muttered. "If Nealuchi hadn't been there, then maybe I would have--"

"So, Miss Lucrezia!" the old crow interrupted. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes, please! I'm starving!" Lucrezia sighed. _So nothing's really changed. Naesala's still a pervert, and I still don't like him. Well, I don't hate him, but I don't like him either... Crap, I guess he was right after all..._

"We should reach the tower I'm thinking of by sundown," Naesala explained. "It's in Gritnea, close to the border with Daein, and I'm sure it's well-guarded."

"So, why do you think Princess Leanne is in that tower?" Lucrezia asked.

"I overheard a lot of stuff while I was working with that black-haired bitch of a general... ugh, she was awful... what was her name?" Naesala shook his head in disgust at the memory of Petrine. "Anyway, they do laguz experimentation in this tower, apparently, so I figured they would have taken Leanne there."

"Laguz experimentation?" Lucrezia's eyes widened. "Wh-what is that?"

"Not really sure," Naesala replied, "but I don't like the sound of it. At any rate, we'll fly in so that a guard can see us, and when he comes out to check on it, we'll overtake him and steal his armor."

"And you'll be able to fight him off?" she asked doubtfully.

"Lulu... I'm King Kilvas. One measly little beorc won't stand a chance. Ten, maybe." Naesala grinned. "If more than three guards come out, we'll be in trouble. But I figure that the guard will be weakest around twilight, since that's how the Daein soldiers operate."

Lucrezia remembered back to when she had tried to sneak into the Daein fort. The guard had indeed been weakest during twilight. "Then what?" she asked.

"I'll explain along the way. It's time to leave."

They reached Gritnea as the sun had just begun to set, just as Naesala predicted. The tower loomed in the distance, a dark spindle sticking out amongst the colorful sky and the setting sun. Lucrezia could sense that evil was going on in that tower, and she could only pray that Leanne was all right.

She and Naesala landed in the woods near the back of the tower and returned to their half-beorc forms.

"Now all we have to do is wait for the guards to come out and investigate," Naesala whispered.

Lucrezia still had doubts about his plan. The two of them were going to sneak into the castle under the guise of soldier and prisoner (she was the prisoner, much to her dislike), and then they would look for Leanne. Nealuchi was waiting at their camp a few miles back.

Naesala grinned and held out a bottle of black dye. "Never thought you'd have to use this again, did you?"

Lucrezia rolled her eyes. "You're just enjoying this whole plan because I have to be the prisoner."

"_My_ prisoner," he corrected, making a grab for her chin, which she quickly evaded. Then she took the bottle and began covering her wings and hair with the sticky liquid. "Just think, Lulu! If this all works out, you might not have to stay in Kilvas anymore!"

Lucrezia stared at him in surprise. "What do you mean by 'might not'?"

"Well, I'll have to see how things are." Then he cocked his head in the direction of the tower. "Someone's coming," he whispered. "Stick to the plan." He quickly hid among the trees.

Lucrezia sighed and threw her cloak over her wings. She leaned against a tall oak in the middle of the clearing, waiting for the soldier to come. Soon, a halberdier entered the clearing and brandished his lance.

"Who goes there?" he called.

"Oh, don't hurt me, Mister Soldier!" Lucrezia replied, cowering in mock fear. "I'm just lost! And I'm afraid I'll get attacked by bandits!" She came closer to him, walking as provocatively as she could. "But you look big and tough! You could protect me from the bandits, you big hero!"

The soldier lowered his lance a little. "Where are you trying to go?"

"Oh, I'm visiting my sister in Melior, but right now I just want a place with a roof. And a nice, warm bed."

"I know a shack nearby," the soldier answered. "It's not much, but it's got a bed." He had completely lowered his lance by now. The flirting was working on him.

"Ooh, could you take me there? Maybe we could snuggle until it gets light outside!" She winked at him, though it was really a signal for Naesala. The raven, who had just transformed, swooped in and bit the soldier on the neck, severing the important artery. The soldier fell to the ground without making a sound.

Naesala transformed back and looked over his handiwork with approval. "Nice acting, Lulu. And you always say _I'm_ acting improper!" he remarked with a grin.

"Trust me, I hated every moment of it," she muttered. _Though I have to admit it was effective._

"Time to change, now." Naesala removed the armor from the dead soldier and slowly slid it over his wings. "Damn, this is uncomfortable," he groaned.

"You want to be the prisoner?" Lucrezia asked.

"No, no, you'd mess it up. Besides, they'd recognize me." He put the helmet on his head, and for a moment Lucrezia could not recognize him at all. The armor hid his wings perfectly. "Well, what do you think?" he asked.

"You look like a filthy Daein," she replied, trying not to laugh.

"Excellent. And you look like a filthy crow! We're both disguised as those whom we hate." Naesala pulled out some rope. "Now, I'll need to tie you up..."

"No way. I know what you'll do as soon as I'm unable to fight back." Lucrezia glared at his playful smirk.

"Remember, Lulu, you have to stick with the plan. Now let me tie you up..."

Lucrezia sighed and held out her hands. "Not too tight."

"Oh, baby!" Naesala grinned mischievously. "The tighter the better!"

Lucrezia rolled her eyes as he went behind her and tied her up. He purposefully made it tight and then breathed in her hair.

"How about just real quick? Just once?" he whispered.

"Dammit, will you stop? We're here to rescue Princess Leanne, not to mess around in the woods!" Lucrezia started walking toward the tower, wrestling with the uncomfortable rope around her wrists. _Damn pervert..._

"Oh, Lulu, I'm just kidding. Here, I'll loosen them up." He grabbed her arm and loosened the rope a little, so it was somewhat more comfortable. "Don't get so riled up all the time. You're like Reyson."

"Let's just get this over with, Naesala." She didn't want to have painful reminders of Reyson bothering her during this all-important mission.

"Hey, _you're_ the prisoner. You don't order me around." He grinned and pulled her along toward the tower. "Now just act scared, and don't say anything."

They came up to the entrance and were stopped by two guards. The one looked at Lucrezia suspiciously.

"Is _that_ all you found?" the one asked Naesala.

"Yeah, just a renegade sub-human," he replied in a husky tone, perfectly copying the voice of the armor's former owner. "I figured someone would want it for a little entertainment."

"Hah, she looks like some good sport!" the other guard remarked. "I'd get something out of her before Izuka finds out."

"Good plan." Naesala nodded and continued inside the tower.

Lucrezia, meanwhile, was shocked at how well he was able to mimic a beorc. _He's spent so much time around them, I guess... At least his treachery is paying off for something..._

They wandered up a few flights of stairs. Besides soldiers, Lucrezia noticed that several scholars passed by them. However, these scholars looked cruel, much more malicious than Soren. Their eyes betrayed the cold-hearted souls that lay within.

Soon they found themselves at the top level of the tower. Lucrezia's legs were worn out from all of the walking. Naesala no longer seemed to know where he was going, but he wouldn't tell her that. Instead, he walked over to a richly-carved door and knocked on it.

"Where's Izuka?" he called. "I've got a present for him!"

However, only a small squeak came from the other side of the door.

"That's Princess Leanne!" Lucrezia whispered. "She's in there! I can feel it!"

"Is she all right?" he asked under his breath. "You can read souls, right?"

"Not as well as the royal family... but she seems okay. Just frightened."

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Naesala grabbed Lucrezia and hid her behind the curtain of a nearby window. "Spot me, okay?" he whispered. Then he dashed to another corner of the hallway, where he had a good view of Leanne's room but was still hidden from view.

A slimy man with long, graying hair appeared at the top of the stairs. His skin was a sickly pale color, as though he had not seen the sun in several years, and Lucrezia could see a sick desire in his beady eyes. He took out a key from under his robes and opened up Leanne's room. Then he went in, but he did not completely shut the door behind him.

Naesala peered out from his hiding place and caught Lucrezia's attention. "Make a distraction," he mouthed. "Fly away or something."

Lucrezia's eyes widened. _Is he serious? With all of those guards armed with bows lining the walls?_ She gulped and nodded. Then she quietly opened the window and flew out. She heard shouts coming from below, but soon she realized that the guards were not even paying attention to her. A small army was advancing toward the tower from the east, and soldiers were quickly mobilizing to defend the tower. However, instead of forming a line of defense, they were bringing out large crates.

Lucrezia did not have time to see what was in the crates, though, because she then spotted Naesala and Leanne making their escape from the tower. She landed in the clearing and waited for them to catch up. They were far enough away from the distraction that none of the soldiers would think of coming out in this direction.

_That army's arrival sure is convenient_, she thought as Naesala, still disguised as a soldier, carried Leanne into the clearing.

"Wow, Lulu, you did better than I thought!" he remarked as he pulled off his helmet. "How did you get an army to come just at the right time?"

"I don't know who they are," Lucrezia replied. "I didn't get a good look at them."

Leanne, however, giggled and chirped in the old tongue, "_That armor looks so ridiculous on you!_"

"You don't like it, either?" Naesala quickly threw the rest of it off. "Man, my wings were getting cramped..."

"_I knew it was you the whole time, Naesala_," Leanne told him. "_I wasn't scared_."

Naesala grinned his playful grin. "It's been twenty years, but I'm still pretty good-looking, aren't I?"

Lucrezia rolled her eyes. "So you're like this around _everyone_..."

Leanne laughed and turned to Lucrezia. "_Why are your wings and hair dark_?"

"_This is my disguise... Naesala's idea_," she explained.

"Yes, she was my prisoner," he told Leanne with a quick glance at Lucrezia. Then he turned to her and asked, "Lulu, did you see what was in those crates?"

"No, I landed before they opened them. What was it?"

"Laguz."

Lucrezia's eyes widened in shock. "They've... c-caged laguz?"

However, a loud growl interrupted their conversation. Naesala grabbed Leanne and took to the air. Lucrezia quickly followed.

"See what I mean?" Naesala asked, pointing down below.

Lucrezia gasped in horror at what she saw. A laguz tiger was in the clearing, but his fur was grey and matted, and he looked very sickly. His eyes looked empty of life, except for an obvious desire to kill.

"Let's get out of here. I think I saw some hawks and ravens, too," Naesala called. "We'll meet up with Nealuchi. Hold on tight, Leanne!"

They flew toward the direction of the camp, but suddenly, Leanne cried out.

"_Tibarn_!" she exclaimed. "_Tibarn and the hawks_!"

"Where?" Naesala glanced back, as did Lucrezia. Sure enough, the hawks of Phoenicis were fighting the warped laguz, along with several soldiers. As Lucrezia scanned the battlefield she thought she also saw Ike and some of his soldiers.

"What a lovely surprise!" the raven remarked. "They certainly provided a nice distraction." Then he continued flying toward the camp.

"Shouldn't we help them?" Lucrezia asked.

"Why bother? Our mission is to rescue Leanne. So rescue her we shall!"

They turned to continue to the camp but were met by a frantic Nealuchi.

"I just had to come help rescue Lady Leanne!" he exclaimed. "Oh, you're looking so well, Princess!"

Leanne smiled. "_Sir Nealuchi! I'm so happy to see you again_!"

"Oh, you look so much like your dear departed mother..." Nealuchi was beginning to tear up.

"Save it for later, Nealuchi. We're getting out of here," Naesala ordered.

They flew on until they reached the camp. Battle cries could still be heard, and Lucrezia began to wonder if she had indeed seen Ike's army fighting.

_If that's true, then Reyson must be with them... That meeting will be unpleasant..._ However, she knew that she needed to talk to Reyson. It didn't matter. She knew that she still loved him and cared for him, not just because he was one of the few herons left, but also because he had been her best friend. _I can't lose what we had just because of one silly little dream!_


	21. Chapter 21: The Dungeon

_Sorry for the really long wait... My summer's been crazy, but now I shouldn't be going out of town again any time soon._

* * *

Chapter 21 -- The Dungeon

As soon as the battle cries started to die down, Naesala knew that the fight at Gritnea Tower was over. He sighed and stretched his wings.

"I guess we better head back and deliver our lovely princess," he told the others.

Lucrezia had finally finished preening all of the black dye out of her wings and hair, with Leanne's help.

"_You do this often?_" Leanne asked her.

"_Only when I need to,_" Lucrezia replied, "_but it's a pain to take off... I'd rather not mess with it at all!_"

Leanne giggled. "_You and Naesala and Nealuchi are all so brave! I never thought you would have come to rescue me!_"

Naesala perked up at the mention of his name. "Why not, Leanne? Of course I would come to the rescue of my darling friend!" He walked over to her and took her hand. "But I'm afraid it's time to give you back to Tibarn... Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to stay in Kilvas?"

Lucrezia rolled her eyes. _He's flirting with her..._

Leanne shook her head. "_I want to stay and look over my father. Tibarn wouldn't let me, anyway. He seems really upset at you right now._"

Naesala laughed. "So true... Well, off we go. Into my arms, Leanne!"

The naive princess jumped into Naesala's arms as he prepared to take off. Lucrezia and Nealuchi quickly followed.

It was nearly dusk now, so flying was becoming difficult in the dark. However, they soon reached the tower to find that the Crimean Liberation Army had indeed been successful. Most of the soldiers were camped outside of the tower, healing any injuries and preparing dinner.

"My guess is that Tibarn and the others went inside the tower to look for Leanne," Naesala whispered. "Let's go surprise them!"

Leanne giggled. "_A fun surprise?_"

_I just hope they aren't mad at us for surprising them,_ Lucrezia thought as she flew through an open window behind Naesala. They landed in an empty storage room.

Leanne suddenly gasped and jumped out of Naesala's arms, much to the raven's disappointment. "_Reyson! Reyson is here! I can sense him!"_

Lucrezia gulped. _Naturally... I don't know if I'm ready to see him yet or not--_

"Well, that's great! Isn't it, Lulu?" Naesala winked at her. "Let's go find them!"

"I hate you," she muttered.

They rushed down through the tower until they heard voices up ahead.

"She has to be here somewhere," Tibarn was saying.

"Are you sure you checked everywhere?" Lucrezia was sure that voice belonged to Commander Ike.

Naesala was grinning. _He probably thinks of this as some sort of game,_ thought Lucrezia. _At least _he's_ excited..._ She could see Reyson's white wings up ahead next to the brownish wings of the hawk king.

"I think I have what you're searching for right here!" Naesala stepped up behind Tibarn, leading Leanne with him.

Reyson's face turned to shock. "N-Naesala? How?"

Leanne squealed with delight and ran into her brother's arms. _"Naesala rescued me!"_ she exclaimed.

"Hey, it's not like I'm trying to be a hero or anything," the raven muttered. "Tibarn?"

"Yes, yes, here's your payment." Tibarn handed over a bag of coins, which Naesala took happily.

_He's got his money and Reyson's favor,_ Lucrezia thought. _Now what?_ She was trying to stay hidden behind Naesala, but the raven was moving around too much. She glanced over at Reyson and was relieved when she realized that he hadn't seen her. However, Ike had.

"Why, it's Lumeria!" the blue-haired beorc exclaimed. "How are you? We were all surprised when you suddenly took off like that!"

Lucrezia blushed and looked down at her feet. "Ah, well, I'm here..." She could see Naesala's shoulders shaking as he tried to hold in laughter. _Stupid beorc... He still doesn't even have my name right!_

She finally looked up to see that Reyson had seen her now. His eyes showed surprise. "_Lucrezia... thank goodness you're all right,_" he whispered in the heron tongue.

"_C-can we talk... private--"_ A man with blue hair and white robes walked up to them, interrupting her.

"Everyone, there is something you need to see." His face was grave. Lucrezia could sense that he was of the dragon clan, though he had hidden his dragon markings well.

"Nasir? What is it?" Ike asked.

"Come this way."

The man named Nasir lead them down a dark, damp stairwell until they reached a sort of dungeon. Lucrezia was beginning to sense that something horrible was awaiting them, and she found someone's hand to hold for support. She looked to see whose hand she'd grabbed and realized with horror that her hand was in Reyson's. However, he didn't seem to care; he was feeling that same sense of evil that she was feeling.

As they approached the door to the dungeon, a terrible smell reached her nose.

"The smell of corruption," muttered Ranulf in front of her.

Nasir opened the door, and what she was changed her life forever.

The mangled bodies of feral laguz were strewn over the floor. The smell of death and decay was strong, and even Naesala had to cover his nose. He had moved himself in front of Leanne to shield her from the horrific sight. Lucrezia felt Reyson's hand slip out of hers. He ran off to the other end of the hallway; she figured that he was feeling sick. Shock was replacing any feelings of nausea within her, though. Shock turned to pity, which eventually turned to anger, to a violent rage. She blinked back tears as she clenched her fists.

_How could anyone do such a thing?_ she thought. _This is even more disgusting than the slavery in Begnion! This is... This is completely horrible! They must have been subject to experiments..._ She remembered Oliver's fat, greedy face, and then remembered the man Izuka with his slimy appearance. Rage was filling her, like the rage she had felt when Naesala betrayed Reyson. _But fighting them is against the heron tradition... No matter. I have to do something about this!_ Suddenly, someone patted her arm. She glanced up to see Naesala standing next to her.

"Come on, you shouldn't see anymore of this," he whispered. She nodded and followed him out of the dungeon after taking one glance back at the corpses.

_Peace, my kin. May you find rest..._

That night, the laguz all sat in Tibarn's tent in silence. No one knew how to express the pain or grief they felt. Lucrezia was sitting next to Ulki, with her knees curled up against her chest. Leanne was the only one who hadn't seen the dungeon, but she could sense that the others had seen something terrible. She was stroking her brother's arm, whispering soothing words into his ear. Naesala and Nealuchi were in the corner of the tent, watching everyone else.

_At least that crow had the decency to keep Princess Leanne from seeing it,_ Lucrezia thought as she saw him glance in her direction.

Reyson had his eyes closed, as though he was trying to erase the memory of what he had seen. Lucrezia wanted to go over to him and hug him, more than anything. She could sense his grief over everyone else's, yet she wasn't sure if he would accept her even in a time like this. Ulki must have noticed her watching the heron prince, because he put an arm around her shoulder and gave her an encouraging squeeze.

Finally, Tibarn spoke. "My friends, this atrocity we've witnessed proves what kind of evil we are up against. I say that now is the time for all our tribes to unite and fight off this evil! We will avenge our family and friends!"

They all gave a shout of agreement.

"But remember, not all beorc are like this. Remember what Ike and his friends have done for us," Tibarn continued. "We will join with him in this fight. Their struggle is as important as ours is."

Tibarn's words seemed to fill Lucrezia with new warmth. _I can't fight, but I can help in other ways... There has to be something I can do... For the fallen laguz and for the good beorc..._


	22. Chapter 22: Naesala's Advice

_Only 3 days of school so far but I feel like it's been 3 months... Anyways, sorry this chapter is a little short. The next one is much, much longer already lol. Hopefully this will clear a few things up. A few..._

* * *

Chapter 22 -- Naesala's Advice

The next morning Lucrezia was surprised to wake up in a tent. She thought over the past day's events. What had started out as a rescue mission had ended in a terrible discovery...

_They looked as though they all died in so much pain..._ she thought. _I have to do something. I can't just keep running away all the time. I have to stand up for the laguz!_

A quiet voice interrupted her thoughts: "Miss Lucrezia? Are you awake?"

"Yeah..."

The red-haired mage boy entered.

"Oh, um... Tormod, right?" she asked.

Tormod grinned. "That's right! I just wanted to check on you guys. You didn't look well yesterday."

Lucrezia sighed. "Can you blame us?"

"Not at all!" Tormod's face became saddened. "Muarim wouldn't let me see it, but I could tell that it must have been... bad..."

"It's a good thing you didn't see it," Lucrezia muttered softly. "I almost wish I hadn't... but at the same time, I think it helped me realize the kind of evils you guys are up against." She smiled sadly. "Before, I never really cared about the war. I was just worried about my heron kin. But now..." Then she laughed. "I can't believe I'm telling you about this. I hardly know you!"

Tormod looked at her in confusion. "So? Prince Reyson was talking to me earlier. It's the most he's ever spoken to me."

"Really? Is he doing okay?" she asked.

"I guess so," replied the little mage.

_Reyson... I should talk to him. We need to settle this..._

"Well, I guess I'll go back now," Tormod told her. "Muarim's gonna think I'm getting into trouble again." He began to leave, but she suddenly thought of something.

"Wait, Tormod!"

"Yeah?"

"What's that group you and Muarim are in?"

Tormod's eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite topic. "We're the founders of the Laguz Emancipation Army!" he explained. "We go around Begnion, stopping laguz slave traders and freeing the slaves!"

Lucrezia laughed. "That's... that's so cool!" she exclaimed.

"You think so?" asked Tormod with bright eyes.

"Of course!" Lucrezia grinned. "I think that is the noblest thing I've heard a beorc ever do!"

"Thanks! I think it's something that this world needs," he remarked.

Lucrezia nodded. "It is." Then she added, "Thanks for telling me. I was just curious."

"No problem! I'll see you later, Miss Lucrezia!" Then Tormod happily skipped out of the tent.

Lucrezia thought for a moment about her current dilemma. _How am I going to settle this? _He_ was the one who didn't want to see _me_... Yet in the tower he said he was glad I'm safe..._ She wandered out of her tent. _Advice... I need advice._

Soren walked by her in a huff, carrying several books in his arms.

_Absolutely not. I'd go to Naesala before I'd go to Soren..._

Before long, Lucrezia found herself in front of Naesala's tent.

_This is a bad idea,_ she thought. _Maybe I would rather go to Soren after all..._

However, Naesala walked out and spotted her before she could leave.

"Why, Lulu, this is a bit forward... Shouldn't you wait until tonight when there's less of a chance of someone walking in on us?" He grinned mischievously.

Lucrezia groaned. "That's not why I'm here, you pervert... I came here to ask about..."

"Ask about what?"

Lucrezia was still wrestling with the idea. "I was going to ask for... your opinion."

"My opinion of what?" asked the confused raven.

_Dammit..._ she thought. "What should I do about Reyson?"

Naesala laughed. "Like I'd know anything about that!"

"It was your fault to begin with!" she replied angrily. "You tell me how to fix it!"

Naesala shrugged. "Kiss him."

"What?!"

"Kiss him," he repeated. "Then he'll stop thinking that we've been 'messing around,' as you so fondly put it."

Lucrezia stared at him in bewilderment. "I'm not like _you_! Sex is not the first thing on my mind! One kiss is not going to fix everything!"

"Oh, I beg to differ," the cocky raven remarked. "I'll show you!"

"NO!" Lucrezia glared at him. "I don't know why I even came to you in the first place!"

He grinned. "Maybe you're secretly beginning to like me more. No?" He noticed Lucrezia's livid expression. "Lulu, you take things far too seriously. Relax. Take a deep breath."

She followed his order only because she did not want to end up killing him in irritation.

"Now count to ten in your head."

_One, two, three..._ She felt her anger slowly subside, and by the time she reached ten she was calmed down. _I hate it when he's right..._

Naesala's smile widened. "Good. Now, I have something that will cheer you up."

"What?"

"You are no longer the object of my affection."

Lucrezia's eyes widened. "You mean at one point I was?"

"I told you that, remember?" He sighed. "I was turning to you because she was gone, but now I'm certain that there's a chance for me. No offence or anything. I suppose I should apologize for being so forceful."

Lucrezia was shocked. _Is he seriously apologizing and being honest? No, wait..._ "Did Nealuchi make you say that?" she asked.

"Partially... but I also think it was necessary. After all..." He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "You are my friend, even if you don't think so."

Lucrezia wasn't sure if she was actually seeing sincerity in his eyes. But the word "friend" brought a smile to her face. She realized that throughout her journey he had been helping her through the consequences of her rash decisions.

"Thanks," she muttered. "You know... I guess I don't hate you as much as I used to."

"Well, that's comforting," he replied dryly. He gave her a gentle push. "Now go after Reyson. And be good to him for me. I'm pretty sure he still hates me for the whole Tanas affair, even though I _did_ make up for it."

Lucrezia laughed. Then she whispered, "If I ever decided to try a... a k-kiss... would you teach me how?" Though she regretted asking that as soon as the last word left her lips.

Naesala smirked. "Normally I would, but I'm saving those for Le-- for the girl I'm going after."

Lucrezia rolled her eyes. _Princess Leanne..._

"Good luck, Lulu!"

Lucrezia nodded. "Thanks again, Naesala." She happily bounded off, her confidence renewed.

_Maybe he wasn't being sincere, but for some reason that whole conversation made me happy. Well, the latter half did... I'm not sure if I should be offended or not that I was just his substitute for Princess Leanne, but still... "You are my friend..."_

Lucrezia realized with excitement that the only other person who had called her "friend" in her lifetime was Reyson.


	23. Chapter 23: Opening Our Hearts

_Yeah, I probably went overboard with the cheesiness here. But seriously, Lulu deserves it! :D_

* * *

Chapter 23 -- Opening Our Hearts

"Prince Reyson!" Lucrezia called as the White Prince was walking with Janaff and Ulki. "Prince Reyson! Can I speak with you?"

Reyson turned to her but was silent. She couldn't tell if his silence was due to embarrassment or anger. She hoped it was embarrassment.

"Prince? We can walk on if you want to talk with her," Janaff suggested.

Reyson nodded and slowly approached Lucrezia. She saw Ulki wink at her before he and Janaff left. _Thanks, Ulki,_ she thought. _I need all the encouragement I can get._ She felt her heartbeat increase rapidly, and a vision of Soren popped into her mind. She chuckled lightly at the memory, which surprised Reyson.

"Is this about... last time?" he asked quietly.

"Sorry, my lord. I was thinking about something Soren once told me... but, yes. It is." Lucrezia took a deep breath.

Reyson sighed. "I need to apologize. I was acting very... irrationally."

"I understand... Naesala often tried to get close to me, but nothing ever happened. I swear, my lord."

"I should never have accused you of such a thing," he continued. "You've never been like that, and I know how much you hate him."

"Well, actually..." she began, and Reyson looked at her in worry. "I don't really... hate him anymore. At times he's frustrating, but..." She smiled. "He saved me multiple times. I think there's some genuine kindness in him."

Reyson nodded. "Perhaps there is. He _did_ save Leanne, after all... So, does this mean you... you have feelings for him?"

"No, no, not at all!" she exclaimed. "I'll never have feelings for him! I actually... well, I have..." She felt her face turning red, and her mouth was drying up.

Reyson looked down. "Lucrezia, I should tell you that... that night, when you said Naesala's name... Why did you say it?"

"Oh, don't ask me that, my lord!" Lucrezia squeaked. Reyson glanced up at her embarrassed face. "I had this dream where he... he told me he loved me and then he kissed me. That's why I said his name. I wanted to ask if he was being serious, but then I woke up," she explained. "It was all a dream."

However, now Reyson was embarrassed. "I was afraid of that," he muttered.

"I told you, my lord, I don't have feelings for him!" She was worried he would get angry at her again.

Instead, he shook his head. "That's not what I was afraid of..." He sighed. "I guess I was... a little overcome. You had fallen asleep, so I took you back to your tent so you wouldn't get cold, and I..."

Lucrezia's eyes widened. "Th-that was you? You... k-kissed..."

"I'm sorry, Lucrezia. I let feelings take over... I know it was improper!"

"N-no, Prince Reyson, I'm not offended!" she exclaimed. She felt a smile come to her face. "I'm actually... very happy!" She started giggling. _All this time he felt the same way... we could have avoided all this awkwardness after all..._

Reyson looked at her in surprised, and for a moment they merely stood there, looking into each other's eyes. Nothing had to be said. All was apparent from their smiles. They leaned in to each other until their lips touched. Lucrezia noticed that Reyson's kiss was much more pleasant than Naesala's.

_Maybe it's because I actually wanted this kiss,_ she thought. Then another thought came to her mind. She quickly pulled away and exclaimed, "Wait, is this okay? You're the prince, and I'm the renegade who kept breaking the rules!"

Reyson laughed. "I've never thought of you as a renegade before!"

"Well, I kind of am... I mean, I'm not a typical heron."

"I don't think Father would mind," he replied. "There are so few of us herons left... It would cheer his heart, I think."

Lucrezia smiled. "That's good..." Another weight off of her chest. "I'm so glad we finally got this settled!"

"So am I!" Reyson told her. "This will make the rest of the war more bearable."

Visions of the mangled feral ones flashed through Lucrezia's mind. "Reyson," she whispered, "I'm going to help this army. I know we can't fight, but we can use our song. After seeing that dungeon... I feel like I have to do something..."

Reyson nodded gravely. "I understand, and I'll support you in whatever decision you make."

Suddenly, a soft giggling came from behind them. They both jumped in surprise as Leanne came running toward them.

"_Wh-what was that about?_" Reyson asked in the heron tongue.

"_I told you she would like you back! Reyson, you're so silly!_" Leanne exclaimed.

Lucrezia blushed. "_Y-you knew, too, Princess Leanne?_"

"_Of course!_" Leanne smiled. "_I made Reyson tell me. As soon as you came back to Serenes, I could tell that something had changed..._"

"Since S-Serenes?" Lucrezia's face turned even redder.

"W-well, I wasn't really sure what to do at that point," Reyson stammered.

Leanne laughed. "_You two really are cute. I'm happy for both of you!_"

"_Th-thank you!_" Lucrezia mumbled in embarrassment. Then she thought about Naesala and his secret feelings for Leanne. She wondered if he had mentioned anything to her yet.

"_Well, I must be going!_" Leanne told them. "_I promised Janaff and Ulki I would make them a cake!_" She happily fluttered off to find her hawk friends.

"When did Princess Leanne learn how to bake?" Lucrezia asked Reyson after Leanne had left.

"I guess in Phoenicis. She's recently been making cakes for people," the heron prince explained.

Lucrezia then realized something. "I'm... um... I'm not very good at cooking..."

Reyson smiled. "That actually does not surprise me much. You don't seem like the domestic type."

"B-but, wouldn't you rather have a... a g-girlfriend who can... you know, cook and stuff?"

"Well, I've never really thought about that kind of stuff," Reyson admitted with a blush. The word "girlfriend" seemed to affect both of them.

They spent most of the rest of the day together, laughing and talking, but still a bit too embarrassed to get very physical. The most they were willing to do was hold hands, but even this was a new experience for them. Lucrezia could tell that Naesala was eyeing her with disapproval.

_He would prefer that we were all over each other,_ she thought with disgust. _Poor Princess Leanne! She won't know what to expect if he does anything improper!_

The others in the group were also beginning to catch on.

"Aw, Miss Lucrezia, you and Prince Reyson look so cute!" Mist exclaimed as she passed by them on the way to torment her brother.

Rolf grinned and whispered, "Boyd is mad because he lost the bet to Oscar. He thought that you two wouldn't end up together before the war was over."

Sothe and Tormod walked by them as the herons were holding hands and did a double-take.

"Is that _our_ Lucrezia holding hands with Prince Reyson?" Tormod asked.

"Yeah. What, are you jealous or something?" Sothe muttered back.

During dinner Lucrezia and Reyson were sitting next to each other when Janaff approached them, wearing a wide grin on his face.

"So, you two finally got together, huh?" he asked playfully.

"Why is this such a big deal?" Lucrezia whined. "I didn't think we'd get so much attention..."

Janaff laughed. "You two be good now, you hear? I might have to play chaperone to make sure you don't do anything--"

"Janaff, please..." Reyson mumbled with a blush. "Could we have a little... privacy?"

"Ooh, privacy? Are you going to make out?"

_He's almost as bad as Naesala,_ Lucrezia thought with a groan.

Ulki had heard the discussion and came fluttering over to them. "Janaff, they're both new to being in a relationship. You have to be nice. Remember your first date?"

Janaff winced slightly but then shook it off with a smirk. "I was dead sexy. I'm surprised she didn't like me after that."

"That's because you were stuttering and being clumsy. Now, how do you think Lucrezia and Prince Reyson must feel with everyone in the camp staring at them and making comments, hm?"

Janaff sighed. "Fine, I'll leave you alone." Then he grinned again. "Prince Reyson's too proper to misbehave, anyway, but you never know about Lucrezia..."

"Janaff!" Lucrezia's face darkened in color. "I'm not like that!"

"Kidding, kidding. But you know," the hawk continued, "you'll be the center of attention for a while since nothing else much is happening right now. People are looking for distractions from the war and stuff." Then he flew off to grab some dinner.

"Great, the center of attention," Reyson mumbled.

Ulki laughed. "Don't worry, Prince Reyson. It's part of life. If you truly love each other then you'll be able to ignore the hype soon enough."

"Yeah, I guess," Lucrezia replied. _Everything's still so new to me... I'd never even thought about falling in love until recently..._

Ulki smiled. "I don't mean to embarrass you two even more, but you really do make a good couple. I hope everything goes well for you."

"Thanks," they both replied with a blush.

After Ulki left they glanced around to make sure they were alone.

"Um, do you want to, um...?" Reyson was too shy to ask. "I mean, now that we're alone..."

"K-kiss?" Lucrezia squeaked. "Sure. I-I mean, well... I really liked it..."

"Me too." There was another silence before they both started laughing.

"Why are we so shy?" Lucrezia asked. "We've known each other all our lives!"

"I guess it's the idea of thinking of your friend in a different way," Reyson remarked. "I guess we just have to get over that, first."

Lucrezia reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "Did that help?"

"A little." Reyson sighed. "It's so much more comfortable when we're alone..."

"I guess it's because we're not very physical, and everyone's expecting us to be," she replied. She was thinking of Naesala.

Reyson blushed. "If it's okay... could we not be very physical? I mean, I'm not really... like that."

"It's fine. I'd prefer that we not be too physical. Let's take things slow."

"Slow. Good idea."

Finally it came to be time for bed. Lucrezia was pretty exhausted from running around camp all day, so she was eager to get to her tent and sleep. However, when she went inside, she wasn't expecting to see anyone in there.

"Well, Lulu, that went unexpectedly well." Naesala grinned at her from her cot. He was casually lying down on his side.

At first Lucrezia was shocked. Then she became annoyed. "Wh-what the hell are you doing in _here_?!" she shouted.

"Not so loud, Lulu. You'll give Reyson the wrong impression. I just came to congratulate you, but I figured Reyson wouldn't want me around." He stood up and walked over to her. "You two are like little fledglings."

"Sh-shut up!" she muttered. "It's just... different, okay! Besides, I'm not like _you_!"

Naesala laughed. Then his laugh became out of control. He had to take several deep breaths before he could speak again.

"It's just so funny... you and Reyson... I never would have suspected it until I saw how you were around him!" he finally exclaimed.

Lucrezia was confused. His sudden friendliness toward her still threw her off every time. "Why is that... funny?" she asked hesitantly.

Naesala grinned. "Think about it. You're so alike! You're both stubborn and short-tempered, and you don't like a lot of physical contact and such." Then he sighed. "I've always thought opposites attract better, personally."

"Is that why you're going after the innocent, modest, kind-hearted Princess Leanne?" Lucrezia asked smugly.

Naesala hid a blush of embarrassment. "I never said I was going after Leanne."

"You've hinted at it enough times," she replied. "I still don't know if I like it."

"What?" Naesala sighed. "Again with this? I thought you decided that I wasn't such a terrible guy!"

"It's not _that_... well, partially that... you're hard to trust, still. No, I'm more worried about Princess Leanne's... er... purity."

Naesala rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mother. Look, I'm not going to discuss my issues with you right now. Go to sleep." Then he winked. "Or do you want me to go get Reyson?"

"I'm not like _you_! Stupid pervert!"

Naesala laughed and left the tent.

Lucrezia sat down on her cot and sighed. _He's after Princess Leanne... I wonder if he would even consider marriage, that little pervert..._ Then she blushed. _I wonder if Reyson is... considering... marriage..._


	24. Chapter 24: Bake a Cake

_All dialogue in this chapter after the little break is in the heron tongue, and I was too lazy to keep hitting "Italics", so just to let you know why Leanne's speech is perfect lol._

* * *

Chapter 24 -- Bake a Cake

Only a few days later, the Crimean Liberation Army found itself only a mile from Melior. Lucrezia could sense that the final battle was approaching, but what could she do?

"I'll be going with them to fight," Reyson told her. "They'll need my galdrar to get through this battle."

"But what about me?" Lucrezia asked frantically. "I can't just sit here!"

Reyson sighed. "Please stay here... I couldn't bear to lose you, Lucrezia."

She blushed. "I've done riskier things before, like when I tried to sneak into that Daein fort. If I'm with the army I'll be surrounded by lots of other fighters who can look out for me."

"But you can't always depend on them," the prince replied. "They have to look out for themselves, too."

Lucrezia finally gave in and decided to stay back in the camp with Leanne during the final battle. She could sense that Reyson was worried about the battle, since they were up against overwhelming odds. As she was making her way back to her tent the night before the battle, she spotted Naesala and Nealuchi talking in hushed voices.

"You have to fight, Nestling! You can't just back out now!"

Naesala rolled his eyes. "I'd much rather keep my life intact, thank you."

_He's going to leave?! Now that they need all the help they can get, he's just going to back out and fly home?_ Lucrezia clenched her fists. _And I'd thought he'd become decent!_

However, Nealuchi had the perfect reply. "What about Prince Reyson and Princess Leanne? Princess Leanne especially would be very upset if you left."

Naesala's calm expression faltered a little. "Dammit! Why do you always have to bring those two up?"

Nealuchi chuckled. "I know how much you care for them, Nestling. And I do think that you are beginning to like Princess Leanne a little more than you used t--"

"Fine! I'll stay!" The raven king's face was now a deep shade of pink. "Just don't say anything about that, okay?"

Lucrezia had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. _I knew it! I knew he liked Princess Leanne! Thank you, Nealuchi!_

The next day she found herself staring into Reyson's emerald eyes, wishing that he wouldn't go with Ike to the final battle for Crimea. The army was beginning to move out, and she only had a few more moments with him before he would go off to help in a life-or-death battle.

"I promise I'll come back," Reyson whispered. "I have to come back for you, Lucrezia."

"Just don't do anything stupid," she replied, trying to keep her voice from cracking. "That's my job. If it gets too dangerous, get out of there."

"Aw, the lovebirds are saying their good-byes!"

The herons turned and glared as Naesala approached them.

"Naesala! Go away! We're having a private moment here!" Lucrezia shouted.

"Lulu, don't worry about Reyson. I'll take care of him." The raven king grinned and clapped Reyson on the back.

"Naesala, you don't have to worry about me," Reyson muttered in embarrassment. "I've been in enough battles to know how to stay out of danger."

Naesala looked back and forth between the two of them, marveling at the longing in their eyes. "Are you two going to kiss as soon as I leave?"

Lucrezia blushed. "None of your business..."

"Ooh, can I see? I never would have believed it until I saw it! I mean, how often do you see Reyson kissing people? Never! It would be a sight to behold indee--"

"GO AWAY!" they both shouted.

Naesala sighed. "Fine, fine. I was meaning to talk to Leanne, anyway." Then he winked at them. "No tongues, now, you hear?"

Lucrezia's angry glare sent him flying away.

"Talk to Leanne? Oh, dear, I hope he doesn't start bothering her, too," Reyson groaned.

_I have a feeling that I know what he wants to talk to Leanne about,_ Lucrezia thought. Then she looked up at Reyson. "Be safe... please..."

"I promise." They leaned in and kissed each other softly.

* * *

The final battle was waging inside the castle walls of Crimea, and all Lucrezia could do was worry. She kept trying to reassure herself that Reyson was all right, but the waiting was becoming unbearable, if not frustrating. The even more annoying part was that Leanne seemed perfectly calm. She was humming to herself and fluttering about the camp.

_Isn't she worried about her brother at all?_ Lucrezia thought as the heron princess picked a few flowers from a nearby apple tree.

Then Leanne smiled and came up to her. "You're worried about Reyson, aren't you?" she remarked softly in the ancient tongue. "You look so nervous_._"

"How are you not worried, Princess?" Lucrezia asked desperately.

Leanne sighed. "I am worried, but I'm not going to just sit here anxiously. I have a feeling that Reyson will come back. Tibarn and Janaff and Ulki will protect him!"

"I hope so..." the other heron muttered.

Leanne thought for a moment. Suddenly, she grabbed Lucrezia's shoulder and exclaimed, "I have an idea! I know how to get your mind off of things!"

Lucrezia frowned. "What is it?"

"Well, Reyson told me that you've never made a cake before, so I'm going to teach you how to bake a cake!"

Lucrezia's jaw dropped. "Bake a cake?! At a time like this?!"

Leanne smiled. "Why not? You might as well. It will give you something to do."

"Fine._._."

The princess excitedly led Lucrezia over to the kitchen tent. Oscar, the usual company cook, was off fighting, leaving the tent vacant for Leanne's scheme.

The princess grinned. "What kind of cake should we make?" she asked.

Lucrezia stared at her in bewilderment. "I don't know... I'm not a sweets person, really. What kind of cake does Reyson like?"

"Hmm... Raspberry cream! Yes, he loves raspberries!"

Leanne ran over to the food supply to find the ingredients. Most of the items were completely foreign to Lucrezia; the raspberries were familiar, but there was a bag of fluffy white powder, brown crystal specks, and a white liquid.

"What is all of this?" Lucrezia gasped.

Leanne frowned. "Flour, sugar, and milk. You need it to make a cake. You mean you've never seen any of this before?"

"I-I guess not_..._" Lucrezia sighed. _I usually just scrounge for food in the woods. I don't make it look fancy!_ she thought.

Leanne laughed. "Poor Lucrezia_..._" Then she picked up a bowl and a large spoon. "Okay, pour these into the bowl and then mix. I'll go get the eggs_._"

"Eggs?!" Lucrezia squeaked.

"Not_ heron _eggs,silly!Chicken eggs!" Leanne giggled. It was obvious that she was thoroughly enjoying herself.

Lucrezia slowly mixed the ingredients together, desperately trying to keep her mind off of Reyson. _The castle is so large... What if he's not protected? What if something happens to one of the hawks? What if--_

"Okay, I've got the eggs!" Leanne chirped, interrupting Lucrezia's worries. "Now you crack these and mix them in with the batter."

Lucrezia watched in horror as the princess whacked an egg on the edge of the table and emptied its contents into the bowl. _But isn't this still somewhat... cannibalistic?_ she thought. _I don't eat cakes much... I had no idea what went _into_ them!_

Leanne suddenly handed her an egg. "You try!" Lucrezia gulped and took the egg carefully. "Hit it on the edge of the table to crack it, and then put your thumbs in the crack and pull the shell apart."

Lucrezia followed the instructions, squirming a little as the yellow yolk glopped into the bowl.

"There you go!" Leanne smiled. "Isn't this fun?"

"S-sure..." Lucrezia muttered as she began mixing the batter again. She was all-too-happy to pour the batter into the pan and place it over the fire. However, the smell of the baking cake was indeed appetizing. Leanne sat down next to her and watched the cake slowly rise.

"So, Princess Leanne..." Lucrezia glanced at the heron sitting next to her. "What got you into baking? I didn't think princesses had to learn this kind of stuff."

Leanne smiled. "We don't have to. I just got a little bored in Phoenicis." Then she lowered her voice to a whisper. "I want to bake a cake for Naesala, too! He likes rum cakes, and we hadn't seen each other for so long until he rescued me!"

Lucrezia's eyes widened. _She_ likes_ him? She seriously thinks of him in a good way?_ While it was true that Lucrezia no longer hated the raven king and was even beginning to consider him as a friend, there was no way she would ever bake him a cake. "Um... you're good friends with Naesala, aren't you?" she finally asked.

Leanne nodded. "He's so sweet. And I feel like I need to properly thank him for rescuing me."

Lucrezia couldn't help but smile. Leanne's innocence was almost contagious.

Before long the cake was fully baked, so they took it back inside the tent to finish up. Leanne showed Lucrezia how to make the icing and spread it on the cake. Then they topped it with a few raspberries.

"It looks so yummy!" Leanne exclaimed when they had finished. "I bet Reyson will really like it!"

"Yeah, I hope so..." Lucrezia mumbled. _I hope it at least tastes like it's edible..._ She had a bad feeling that she had messed up somewhere along the line while Leanne wasn't looking.

Suddenly, Leanne stopped and looked up, alert.

"Wh-what is it, Princess Leanne? Did something happen?" Worry began to ooze back into Lucrezia's mind.

"We're needed in the castle... well, I'm needed, I think. It sounds urgent."

Lucrezia gasped. "Reyson--"

Leanne shook her head. "Reyson is fine. He's the one telling me to come. Let's go."

She left the tent with Lucrezia close behind, both forgetting all about the cake in their hurry.


	25. Chapter 25: The Journeys Never End

_Wow. Thank you fefrog for forcing me to finish this. This is why working on several fics at the same time is a horrible idea lol. But this is the last chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it!_

* * *

Chapter 25 – The Journeys Never End

Lucrezia followed Leanne out of the camp and up to the gates of the castle.

_Please be all right, Reyson! Please be all right!_

Smoke was rising from inside the castle like a slithering snake. The two herons transformed and flew over the wall.

"Hey! Need some help?" Tibarn flew over to them in his mighty hawk form. "You two really shouldn't be here."

Leanne began frantically chattering in the old tongue, explaining how she had felt that she was needed. Reyson was calling her.

Tibarn sighed. "You're almost as bad as your brother... Fine. But I'm escorting you in. Reyson would kill me if anything happened to either of you!"

As soon as they cleared the wall Lucrezia began searching for the white wings of the heron prince. The battle seemed to be almost over. Bodies were lying all over the ground, and Lucrezia was glad that she didn't recognize any of them.

"Hey, Miss Lucrezia! What are you doing here?"

Lucrezia looked below her and saw Tormod and Muarim waving at her. They appeared to be worn-out, but they were not horribly wounded. Soon she spotted Mist, Rolf, and Boyd finishing off a halberdier.

"_Lucrezia, look!_" Leanne exclaimed. She was pointing to the central stairway that led inside the main castle hall.

A huge, black wyvern lay sprawled out along the cobblestones, and its rider lay dead next to it. The rider was a man of a large build, and a menacing expression still lingered on his lifeless face.

"_The wyvern is not a wyvern,_" Leanne whispered. "_That is a laguz, I think._"

However, Lucrezia had stopped paying much attention to the heron princess because she had now spotted Reyson standing a few meters away from the wyvern. He was completely unharmed, much to her relief. Ike, Nasir, and another dragon laguz named Ena were also there. Ike was trying to keep Ena from approaching the wyvern.

Leanne landed first and rushed over to Reyson. She whispered to him in the heron tongue that the wyvern was in fact a dragon laguz.

"Are you sure, Leanne?" the heron prince asked. "That's not a wyvern?"

"_Can't you feel the aura from him?_" Leanne closed her eyes. "_We have to help him return to his natural state. He's been warped by some sort of poison._"

"_You want to sing the galdr of rebirth?_"

"_We have to try!_" Leanne pleaded.

Lucrezia looked at the wyvern again. Her senses were not as in tune as those of the royal herons, but she was still able to sense a different flow from the slain wyvern than that of a normal wyvern.

Ike walked over to them with a frown on his face. "What is it?"

"We want to try something," Reyson replied. Then he and Leanne sang the galdr of rebirth.

Lucrezia closed her eyes as she listened to them sing. The sound of heron voices in harmony brought forth a flood of memories in her mind, memories of a much simpler time.

Once they were finished singing, a change in the wyvern occurred. His expression became much calmer, and Lucrezia could now easily tell that he was a dragon laguz. He slowly opened its eyes and stared at Ena.

"E-Ena?"

"Rajaion? You recognize me?" The pink-haired dragon girl smiled faintly as she cradled Rajaion's head in her arms.

Nasir nodded. "Rajaion and Ena were engaged to be married. Ashnard warped his form to the point of insanity."

Lucrezia now realized why Leanne had to come. It would take the strength of two herons to heal a laguz warped so terribly. However, Reyson had not known that Rajaion was really a dragon.

_So why did Reyson call Leanne here in the first place? Did he sense that something was wrong?_

Lucrezia watched as Rajaion quietly passed on. Then she wandered over to Reyson and grabbed his hand from behind.

"Oh, Lucrezia!" Reyson turned and smiled. "I didn't see you with Leanne."

"I had to make sure that you were okay!" She leaned her head against his chest in relief. "Just sitting and waiting was really getting on my nerves, anyway."

"I should have known you wouldn't be able to sit still. You never can," he remarked with a chuckle.

Suddenly, Mist ran over to them with a large grin on her face. "Reyson! Leanne! I have something I want to give you!" She was holding out a small medallion.

"_Oh! That medallion looks so familiar!_" Leanne exclaimed.

"This medallion belongs with you guys in Serenes Forest," Mist explained. "I know my mother was keeping it for a while, but she was only protecting it for Lillia."

Lucrezia's eyes widened. _Princess Lillia? That's right; she always had that medallion, didn't she? I never knew that Mist's mother had connections with the princess..._

Reyson nodded. "Leanne, you should take it."

Leanne carefully took the medallion from Mist's hands. "_Thank you. I barely remember Lillia, but I know that someone needs to watch over this. Reyson, can you please thank her for me?_"

"Leanne wants to thank you," Reyson translated. "We are very grateful for this, daughter of Elena."

Mist grinned. "You're welcome!" Then she ran off to join her brother.

Suddenly, Lucrezia remembered that there was a freshly-baked cake waiting back at the camp. "Reyson, guess what?"

He looked down at her in confusion. "What? You look really excited all of a sudden."

"I have a big surprise waiting for you back at camp!"

Naesala seemed to pop out of nowhere. "A surprise! Ooh, Reyson, sounds like you're getting some action tonight!"

The two herons turned to him and glared.

"Naesala, will you stop! It's not anything _you_ would want!" Lucrezia spat at him.

The raven king sidled up to Leanne. "So, Leanne, you should have seen me battling earlier. I was pretty sleek out there."

_Great. He's flirting._ Lucrezia sighed. "Reyson, let's go off somewhere and--"

"Hey, Lulu, don't do anything naughty!" Naesala shouted.

Reyson pulled Lucrezia away before she could attack Naesala. He was still mostly clueless about Naesala's feelings for Leanne at this point.

Once they were far enough away from the raven king, they hugged each other tightly.

"It's finally over," Reyson whispered. "Finally there can be peace!"

"I hope so..." Lucrezia pulled away. "I'd like to be able to travel without having to worry about being attacked if someone sees my wings!"

"Travel?" Reyson frowned. "You mean you still want to travel? The soldiers of Daein aren't hunting you anymore. You don't need to live on the run."

"I know. I just like traveling, though." Then she realized what he was getting at, but they were interrupted by Janaff and Ulki, who pulled them into the celebration that was now taking place in the middle of the courtyard. The conversation would have to wait.

That night everyone stayed in the castle to rest up before leaving for their own homes. Lucrezia was sitting out in the courtyard with Reyson, playing her lute for him while he ate the cake she had made for him earlier that day.

"This is really good, Lucrezia!" he remarked. "You should bake more often!"

Lucrezia blushed. "Maybe... It's really not my thing, but if you want me to..." She continued playing until Reyson decided to bring up the conversation from earlier.

"Lucrezia, about the whole traveling thing..."

"Yeah, I realize now what you were thinking about." She stopped playing and set her lute down in her lap. "If I go traveling then I can't be around you, because you have to take care of your father."

Reyson nodded. "But, if that's really what you want to do, I can't stop you..."

Lucrezia stared down at her feet in silence. _I really want to spend time with Reyson, but at the same time I love just wandering around and playing the lute. That's the lifestyle I've grown used to... But Reyson can't go traveling. I have to choose between Reyson and my travels... And then there's the other thing I wanted to do._

She finally looked up at Reyson again and took a deep breath. "Reyson, after this whole journey I've been on, I noticed just how horribly some laguz are being treated right now, and then Tormod told me about this group he's in..."

"The Laguz Emancipation Army?"

"Yes." Lucrezia smiled a sad smile. "I almost want to... to join them."

Reyson's eyes widened. "No, Lucrezia! You know how much danger they're in! They're constantly putting their lives on the line! You'd get hurt! You could get killed!"

She sighed. "I kinda figured you would say that. But their cause is so noble, and I'm sure I could help out in some way. I can't fight, but I'm really good at being disguised and going undercover. I've done it so many times during my journey! Please, Reyson! I want to help my fellow laguz!"

"I'd never see you, though," he whispered. "You'd always be in Begnion. How would I know if you're all right?"

"Oh..." Lucrezia looked down again. _I can't do this to Reyson. As much as I want to help, I have to keep his feelings in mind, too._

"I don't want to force you, Lucrezia." Reyson took her hand. "If you'd be miserable sitting around a castle all day then I would prefer that you go out and do what you want."

"You're saying that to be nice," she replied. "You'd be worried the entire time if I was traveling. See, this is the problem. I love you too much to be completely selfish right now."

"I'm being selfish, though, making you stay. Do what you want."

"No, because then you'd be miserable."

The argument continued for a while until finally Lucrezia sighed and picked up her lute again.

"Let's just enjoy the time we have now," she suggested as she began playing the chords for an old Serenes tune. "I'll go with you and Leanne back to Gallia for now, and then maybe I'll go out traveling."

Reyson smiled. "You know you can't be like that forever, though, Lucrezia. What if I wanted to ask--" He stopped suddenly and blushed.

"Ask what?"

"I-if we would ever... you know... g-get married..."

The lute instantly silenced, and Lucrezia's jaw dropped.

"N-not now, but maybe... in the future?" Reyson squeaked.

Lucrezia felt her face grow hot. "T-to be honest, I wasn't even thinking about that... Y-you were considering asking me to... to m-marry..."

There was another embarrassing silence as the word "marriage" continued to echo in her mind.

Reyson finally managed to get some words out of his mouth. "I-I'm not saying that we h-have to, well... get married. But, well, have you ever... thought about it?"

Lucrezia gulped. "I did, once... But just the possibility of it," she answered quietly. _Now I feel really bad! Of course I want to stay with Reyson forever, but I still want to help the Laguz Emancipation Army! I can't sit still when I know I can help! _

Reyson put the cake down and went over to her, patting her on the shoulder. "Lucrezia, I have an idea. I know what's important to you... Just listen to me."

* * *

Once again Lucrezia found herself strumming her lute under the stars. The cool evening air was inspiring her to write another song. After playing a few chords she leaned her head back against the old oak tree and stared at the sky.

_I wonder if Reyson is looking at the same sky_, she thought. His idea had appealed to both of them, though Lucrezia still missed Reyson very much. She could still remember his soothing voice as he suggested his idea to her...

_"You go with the Laguz Emancipation Army for a year. I trust Tormod and Muarim to keep you safe. Then you can always come back and visit me. I was in captivity for a short time, but I still loathed every minute of it. If you can save more laguz slaves then I will support whatever you want to do."_

_Lucrezia's eyes widened. "You're okay with that?"_

_"Well, I'll be worried, of course. But I know I could never keep you trapped in a castle when there is something you can do to make a difference in the world. You have such a passion for those kinds of things."_

_Tears filled her eyes. "I promise, I'll work with the army for a year and then come back to you. Reyson, thank you so much!" They embraced and kissed passionately, since for once no one was attempting to spy on them._

It seemed so strange to her that only a year ago she had been sitting under the same sky, strumming her lute, worrying about whether or not she would still be free the next day. It was also strange to her that she was alone. She had not been out alone for a while now, and she found herself welcoming the silence. However, she was not completely alone; Tormod and Muarim were still a few miles off, looking for food.

_Tormod really is the future,_ she thought with a smile. _If more people could be like him, then maybe someday... Someday I'll be able to walk the streets without having to hide my wings. And then when that day comes, I will have made a difference. And I can be with Reyson._

At this point Tormod had already returned with dinner, berries and a freshly killed deer. He grinned at Lucrezia as he handed her a batch of berries.

"I'm so happy to have you with us!" he exclaimed. "But, don't you miss Reyson at all?"

"Of course I do," she replied. "But, Tormod, you know we herons live a lot longer than beorc. The time will fly faster than the hawk tribe can."

Tormod cocked his head in confusion. "Does time really go by that fast? I've never noticed..."

"It does, Tormod." Lucrezia patted him on the head. "You're still young. Don't worry about it for now." She popped a berry into her mouth. "So, where are we going first?"

"Begnion." Muarim approached them from behind. "Empress Sanaki has asked to employ us to continue freeing slaves owned by the nobles." Then he sighed. "Lucrezia, are you still sure you want to do this? It's pretty dangerous."

Lucrezia laughed. "Please, Muarim. It couldn't possibly be more dangerous than some of the stuff I've been through lately. No, I'm definitely looking forward to this. I hope that someday, beorc and laguz can all live together peacefully."

She then sang her new song for them, a song about love and the possibilities of the future. She knew she could be happy because she had made so many new friends, both beorc and laguz. Even Naesala, whom she had always sworn she would hate. Most of all, Reyson was waiting for her, with a smile on his face and love in his heart.

_Such a long journey,_ she thought. _But one journey always leads to the next. This is what makes life so worth living. The journeys never end. Now, I'm off onto a new journey!_

**The End**


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